Kicker
by The Swordslinger
Summary: After his defeat at the Forest of Death against Orochimaru, Naruto finds himself crippled by the snake. With his arms no longer able to use chakra and thus leaving him unable to use jutsus, what is he to do? Simple, take what he has, use his youth, and kick his way through any hardships, literally! Warning: may become longer or not. No bashing and no pairings.
1. Chapter 1

I OWN NOTHING

Considering any negative comments I get regardless of what I do having the same importance to me as blowing bubbles with my spit, here's something I did out of spite to my boredom.

 **Author's Note** : I'll skip some of the canon bits, to avoid retreading stuff we already know from it or to avoid scenes that could go on for too long if they don't change canon.

Recommended music for the battles:

1st fight: Fatal Fury Special OST - Let's Go To Seoul! (Arranged)

2nd fight: Ys vs. Sora No Kiseki: Alternative Saga OST - D.A.Y. / BREAK

 **XXXXXX**

In the middle of a large forest a battle had come to an end. The traitorous snake known as Orochimaru had thoroughly mocked and beaten Team 7, and had an idea on what to do with one of them.

"You were a thorn on my side, Jinchuuriki Boy." He said to the child before him as the tiny blond charged at him, "I could have used someone like you, but I fear at this point you'd be a handicap to Sasuke-kun."

Naruto was hung up by his wrists by a snake, unconscious, and still breathing. And then, it was like a lightbulb appeared over the serpentine man's head as he stared at the kid's arms. The boy had tried so hard to punch him, claw him even, do everything he could with a single jutsu skill that required his hands. Without those arms, he'd be useless.

"W-What're you doing to Naruto?!" Sakura asked, fear all over her face after seeing her teammates utterly beaten and knowing she had no chance of winning.

Orochimaru cackled, "Tell me, young girl, does this boy pride himself in his strength?" he raised both hands to the kid's shoulder, making him hiss at the contact, "Because from now on, he will be even more of a dead weight to Sasuke than you."

The last thing Naruto knew was that he was screaming so hard he feared he'd howl himself deaf. The pain was so excruciating, like a thousand needles swam through his bloodstream all over his arms right to his fingertips. It was like countless papercuts deep in his skin, all of them tearing through his muscles.

And then, he was finally let go to fall either to his dead or whatever horrible condition he'd be in if he survived the fall.

Naruto's mind was so overloaded with pain he passed out with a single thought, his arms felt like lead. No, his arms felt dead. He could feel them twitch, he knew he was able to move them, and yet it all felt empty. It was indescribable, he had trained so hard, done so many push-ups, practiced countless hand signs, and punched as hard as he could his enemies it felt like something was missing.

He slept a lot, and in his dreamless sleep he still felt like his arms had just died…

It was a relief when he finally woke up and, with a terrified gasp at the start, he stretched his arms. He allowed himself a deep breath before curling and uncurling his fingers… and that's when he felt something odd.

"N-Naruto!" Sakura started, running to him, "You're ok…?" she asked slowly.

"My arms feel all weird…" he took off his jacket to rub his muscles, feeling his biceps and, once again, that odd feeling of something being dead. And then, his memory hit him, "Wait! What happened with that venomous bastard?! Where are we?! How long was I asleep?! And… why is your hair so short?"

Sakura groaned, "Yeah, you're still the same loudmouth… Well, it is a long story, and…"

"Hello." Said a familiar face with glasses and a white ponytail, "I can't believe you're really awake after everything that happened."

Naruto blinked twice in surprise, "K-Kabuto?!" he pointed at the spectacled man, "What're you doing here?!"

The Sound shinobi smiled softly, "I couldn't help it. I saw your teammates carrying you and decided to check what was up…"

Things went quiet, and Naruto didn't like it, "What is it…? Come on, you two are worrying me…"

Sakura chuckled awkwardly, "You see… We… We treated you, we dealt with a lot, and found out, you…"

Kabuto spoke firmly, "Your arms will never be the same." He put on a face of pity, "After that fight you guys had, whoever fought you used a very dangerous jutsu on you. Apparently, since you were sleep, they took all the time they needed to destroy your arms' chakra network."

Naruto started to sweat, he didn't like it, "What's that mean?"

Kabuto sighed, "Naruto… your arms can never use chakra again." He could see the boy's heart break and sink in slow motion, so he continued, "That means you can't use hand signs, you can't summon clones, and even if you tried to punch someone your strike wouldn't hurt them as much as before."

"This is… it's a joke, right?" Naruto started with a smile and a weak chuckle, but no one was laughing, "Come on, Sakura-chan, tell Kabuto to stop joking here!"

"It's true!" she said, looking down, "You… I saw what happened to your arms, Kabuto showed and explained it to me, and it's all true! You can't fight like this, you-"

"Calm down, Sakura." Kabuto said with a straight face before turning to Naruto, "Your best option, for you three, would be to forfeit…"

Naruto snapped, "Screw that! I can't! I won't! I didn't come this far just to give up even if I can't fight like I used to!"

Kabuto held the boy's shoulders to calm him, "Listen, Naruto, right now your teammates have next year to try this test again, but you can't… If you aren't doing this for yourself, then do it for them. Right now they have a chance, and you'll just-"

"Then I'll find a way to fight!" he shouted louder than ever before turning to his bubble gum haired teammate, "Sakura-cha- No… Sakura!" said girl trembled, not once had he ever addressed to her that way, "I won't give up, and I won't weight you or Sasuke down… I want to do this to become a Chuunin! I refuse to give up when everything I wanted to do was to be Hokage! It's… It's all I have!"

Sakura wanted to speak, but saw her teammate's eyes about to tear up, so Kabuto spoke, "You three still haven't found a scroll and you're in no condition to fight. Even I aren't much of a fighter. Naruto, be serious, if you go out there like this, you will die."

"Like I care!" Naruto shouted defiantly, "If what you say is true, then I can't let this stop me or my team! No, I won't let it stop me!" he stood up and reached for his jacket, but didn't put it on.

The other two shinobis stared in awe as Naruto threw it down, took off his headband, and wrapped it around his right biceps. He was now wearing only a black muscle shirt and his orange pants, and without the headband keeping some of his golden spikes up some of them started to fall down, covering his forehead. They were about to ask what he was doing, until Naruto ran to the nearest tree and kicked it.

Sakura watched the insane amount of chakra Naruto put on his foot, and watched as he left his sandal's sole imprinted on it, "W-What are you doing?" Kabuto asked, just as confused.

Naruto clenched his fists and turned to them, "If I can't use my arms… I'm going to kick everyone who gets in my way!" he affirmed his exclamation by turning to the tree and he started kicking it with his shins, making bark and splinters fly, "Whoever it is we have to fight, I'll beat them up using only my legs! I'll have to use every kick I know until they kiss the dirt, and if that doesn't work, I'll kick harder and faster!"

Kabuto grit his teeth, momentarily getting out of character in his acting, "What a monstrous will…"

Sakura on the other hand could only stare in awe at the boy's determination, but… "Naruto, stop!" she cried while he kept on kicking wildly, "You'll only hurt yourself! It's fine, really! Sasuke and I can wait another year and you can look for a way to fix your arms, so please, just-"

"No!" he shouted, kicking the tree so hard his shin dug into it before he pulled it out with a roar of anger, "I'm tired of being unable to help, I'm tired of losing, I'm tired of being the dead last, and I'm tired of…" this time he spun around, turning his back to the tree and aiming his right heel to its trunk, "…feeling weak!"

Before anyone could say more, even Naruto was surprised at what happened… He didn't just kick the tree, he snapped it in half! It wasn't a tree as big as the ones in the forest, it was a normal tree, but still to see a kid just break it like a twig with a kick was extraordinary and terrifying.

Sakura's jaw nearly hit the floor, a newly arrived Sasuke felt his bladder loosen up, and Kabuto felt cold sweat on his body as he gaped, ' _This… This can't be… Orochimaru-sama told me so himself. His plan was to make them lose this competition now and make it all this kid's fault, that way Sasuke would come to him. But this is wrong, he should give up! How- Wait, his arms can no longer use chakra… so his body uses it all._ '

Unlike the others, Naruto grinned, "Alright! I'm going to win this!" he cheered and ran to the nearest tree, kicking it wildly.

"What's gotten into him? I thought he'd be devastated by the news." Sasuke said, approaching the group.

Sakura shook her head to get her thoughts recollected after the shock, "I think he's like a maelstrom indeed… if the water can't find a way around something, it will flow somewhere else. But this is ridiculous."

After snapping another tree in half, Naruto turned to his team and the spy with a wider grin than he ever had before, "Let's go get ourselves that second scroll!"

"Don't be so reckless!" Kabuto started, trying to get the boy to give up, "You can't use jutsus without hand-signs, and your attacks are limited to just kicks. You can't just expect to win in so little time like this!"

"Wanna bet?!" the first rule to remember about the blond is that it's pretty dumb to try to get him to give up.

Seeing how the boy wouldn't stop charging forward regardless of his new condition the group decided to continue.

XXXXXX

It wasn't long to find a way to where they had to go to, and it took even less time for the group to get in trouble with some masked shinobi using illusions to trap them.

Once they realized the trap and seeing a horde of clones surrounding them, it should have come as no surprise that Naruto wanted to fight. But what was surprising was the plan he had. While the others used clones of their own to hide and rest, they left Naruto and the clones to fight the enemies.

"What do you think you can do that your friends can't?" one of the masked shinobi asked him, "We've seen what happened, we know what you can do. There's no way you can win this."

Naruto grinned, "Like I care!" he shouted and raced at them, throwing a savage kick at the nearest clone, "From here to the end of my life I promise to never lose to anyone!"

Of course his masked opponent tried to block the kick, grab the leg, and break Naruto's hopes along his limb. What he didn't expect was that the force behind that strike broke directly through his arms and most likely broke seven ribs. The real masked shinobi sweated when the clone crashed into one of the gigantic trees of the forest and remained there. However, Naruto was doing all the fighting on his own.

They rushed at him, and were greeted with the boy kicking, jumping, dashing, flipping over them, and striking with all his might. Clones collided against clones. Masks flew and the horde of enemies started to thin out while Naruto's battle cry seemed to get louder the more he got into the fight. At the end, when everyone was fully healed, Naruto's teammates and Kabuto looked at the scene before them.

The three real enemies stood before them, with a panting and badly bruised Naruto in between both parties. The blond had deep cuts on his arms and torso, but didn't look too bothered. His legs were covered in blood, partly his from kicking non-stop regardless of what weapons his enemies had. It allowed them to take down the enemy team before they could further harm the whiskered child.

Kabuto was just stunned, ' _He outlasted three genjutsu users using only his kicks… What a monstrous will indeed…_ '

Everywhere around them there were marks of the blond boy's kicks to prove one Naruto Uzumaki would never go down easily. Pieces of his jacket were scattered all around him, showing his arms and some heavy cuts on his chest. Despite all the pain and dizziness from blood loss he should be suffering, the boy still had a winning smile.

Said boy allowed himself a sigh of relief after he and his team finally got the scrolls they needed, and sat down on the floor with a slight wince. His pants from the thigh down were caked in blood and covered in cuts, but due to the fox's chakra those wounds were already healing up. A deeper look would allow one to see his reckless fighting would leave scars, but he didn't care.

Things proceeded smoothly once they reached the tower and got to meet Iruka, but the teacher couldn't help but notice something, "Naruto?! What happened to you?!" he rushed to the boy, who had been shocked to see his teacher from the academy appear out of the scrolls.

Sakura answered, "Naruto… saved us…" she explained, "If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have made it."

"He was too stubborn to give up." Sasuke admitted.

Naruto grinned, "I'm fine, Iruka-sensei, honest… I just need some new clothes."

"I'm afraid it won't be that easy, Naruto…" the teacher started and then explained what would happen now that all the shinobi that made it had arrived.

Naruto didn't feel like fighting, so he sat down on the balcony of the arena where their next trial to earn their right to be a Chuunin would take place. Everyone did notice how bloody Naruto's clothes were, and how his body was covered in scars that, due to how long the fight lasted, were taking their time to disappear.

Sakura actually approached him, "Naruto, come on, you have to quit…" she told him in a whisper, "You've gotten this far the way you wanted, so just stop and go back home. You can try again next year the same way you did now, but you can't win in that condition."

Naruto groaned and took off his headband again, wrapping it over his right biceps, "Then let me ask you something… If you had one chance to date Sasuke, just one… would you let it go because you can't walk?"

She grew flustered, and soon angry, "It's nothing like that! Naruto, you-"

"Would you?!" he asked her, this time with some anger of his own, which once again shocked her, "Tell me, if you have the chance to do what you want, would you really let it go? You already let Sasuke fight, so why don't you let me fight even if I'm like this?!"

As he shouted that, the next match was announced, it was Naruto against Kiba.

Said Inuzuka boy grinned, "This will be easy…" he jumped at turned to the referee, "Hey, why don't you let me win? He can barely stand up."

Hearing that, Naruto ran to the railing, stepped on it, and jumped down with a glare, "You were saying?!" he snarled at the dog boy, clenching his fists.

Kiba shrugged, "I won't blame you if you quit, because I can actually become Hokage." He taunted, "You just spend your time being a clown, and now look at you! Even I can tell there's something wrong with you and I'm not talking about all that blood. Whatever happened to you in the forest can't let you stand."

Naruto took a stance, spreading his legs, his knees bent, and his hands up. He had his right side facing Kiba, right fist up at the same level as his chin, and his left fist covering his stomach. Kiba chuckled and got into a stance of his own with Akamaru at his side.

Any other time, Naruto would have called on Kiba having a partner helping him, but decided against it for another reason, his pride, "Stop talking…" he growled, having grown tired of people telling him he can't do anything ever since he first remembered, "Yap all you want, because I promised myself I won't lose to anyone ever again!"

Kiba howled with laughter, "Are you serious?! How stupid can you be?! What if you actually faced a Kage the way you are now?!" he laughed some more, but stopped when seeing Naruto's glare hardening, making him sneer, "Fine. Akamaru, let's teach this punk a lesson or two!"

 **NARUTO UZUMAKI VS. KIBA INUZUKA**

 **GO FOR BROKE!**

 **ROUND 1!**

 **BEGIN!**

Naruto watched the dog turn into an exact copy of his master, and both rushing at him. With a battle cry, both pet and master had turned into spinning drills of claws. The blond was about to withdraw, side-step the charge or at least take a step back and away from the incoming tornadoes, but the others were right. After so much fighting his legs were reaching a limit of how much they could take.

"Shit, not now!" Naruto cursed at his legs trembling.

Hinata covered her eyes when Naruto got the full impact of one of the trademark techniques of the Inuzuka clan, his body flying and spinning in the air before landing with a heavy thud.

Kiba grinned and beckoned Akamaru, "Let's go, boy, it was-"

His train of thought ended when Naruto jumped out of the hole with fury in his eyes, "I'm!" he started, flying right at the brunet with a leg pulled back.

Kiba yelped, "What the Hell?!"

"Back!"

Time seemed to slow down for the Inuzuka boy. He brought up his arms to try to block the strike, and when Naruto's shin connected with his arms he had to bite back a yelp of pain. When time flowed again, Kiba couldn't even yelp when Naruto's leg collided with his ribcage, kicking the air out of his lungs. The other shinobi watched Kiba flying back into a wall with a look of shock on his face, leaving a crack on it.

"W-What… hit me…?" the stunned genin asked upon sliding down on his rump, too shocked by what happened to properly process it.

The sound of Naruto's feet snapped his attention back to the blond, who was trying to remain up on shaky legs. The Uzumaki's knees wobbled back and forth, and yet he was determined to not let them hit the floor, "Taunt me all you want, say anything you can throw at me… but don't think for a second that I will let you win that easily!"

Kiba forced his body up with a grunt and his furry partner's help, "How did you get so strong?"

Naruto grinned, "I've been practicing on my kicks lately…" however, his legs were about to crumble.

The Inuzuka growled, pulling out a pair of pills for himself and his partner, "I can't believe I have to do this, but you asked for it." he and Akamaru ate them, and while Kiba's features became more animalistic Akamaru's fur started to grow red.

Grinding his teeth, Naruto forced his legs to stay still, ready for the incoming attack. Once again, dual drills of claws rushed at him, ready to tear him to pieces. Many thoughts rushed through the Uzumaki boy's mind, like how unfair things were, the question of how would he survive this, and the desire to just kick Kiba in the face.

Kiba's attack collided full force, and he could see blood fly from the wound he and Akamaru gave the blond. He grinned in victory at the sight of Naruto's body being flung back against a wall. The referee had been about to declare Kiba the winner, too. However, time once again seemed to slow down when Naruto's eyes snapped wide open, focusing on Kiba.

It was like being stared at by a predator, paralyzing and with that effect of taking the air out of someone. Maito Gai himself could tell there was a fighting spirit in the blond the likes of his student.

When Naruto hit the wall, he rolled his body so his feet smashed on it, creating a large web-shaped crack, "If I can't stand, I'll find a way to fly!" he shouted and bounced off the wall, dashing at high speeds right at Kiba. Said feral boy growled and jumped out of the way, only to see Naruto kick the ground where he'd have landed to give chase right away at the same speed.

"Shit!" Kiba cried, ducking under a kick.

He had been about to lash at Naruto, but the blond had already jumped once again to another wall, his legs bent like those of a frog before, with a battle cry, he lunged at the Inuzuka yet again, giving chase like that. To make matters even worse for the Inuzuka, it was like Naruto were actually flying, bouncing around every surface he could to chase right after him for a kick, but that was a mistake.

"What's he doing? He's just making himself too predictable." Temari commented with narrowed eyes.

Kiba turned at the point where he knew Naruto would come at him, "Stop playing around! I'll end this game if you can't quit being a stubborn idiot!" he and Akamaru rushed again as one.

Naruto grinned, "That's what I wanted!" he shouted while Kiba went directly to collide against him, and readied his leg, "I won't fall, not now or ever!"

Kiba and Akamaru were about to turn Naruto into minced meat, and were too late to realize something. As Naruto flew directly at them for a head on collision, the blond had stored so much chakra on his legs that it appeared like blue flames were licking his bloodied pants.

The resulting strike created large gales of wind that kicked dust all over the arena, and the echoing sound of two faces getting smacked on with a shin followed soon after. Everyone in the balcony could only gape when Naruto's leg not only stopped Kiba and Akamaru dead in their tracks, it also sent them flying back!

This time, when Kiba collided against the wall behind him, he and Akamaru crashed right through for a nice little sleep.

The referee rushed to see if they were alive, and seeing them breathing and unable to move unless they visited a hospital he turned to the whiskered boy.

Naruto was down on one knee, but he still breathed and managed to remain conscious, even though his body was drenched in sweat.

It didn't take a genius to know who won.

"I…" Naruto started, trembling and worrying the referee.

"Hey, is he ok?" Shikamaru asked his sensei, "I mean, I always wondered if he was human, but this is the first time I'm wondering if he's undead or something."

"I…" everyone stared at the blond, who lifted his head up with a large grin before pumping his fists into the air, "I did it!"

Ino sighed, "Well, he's still the same knucklehead, though…" she stared at him and smiled, "Even for a moment, he seemed to turn a bit manly."

Naruto was about to be pulled by the medics out of the arena, but knowing his condition the boy forced himself to his feet, "H-Hey! You shouldn't stand like that, you need to-"

"I'm fine!" Naruto lied, stomping his foot on the ground, "I will watch the fights, ok? You can check me out when it's done."

The medics wanted to say something, but it was clear the boy wouldn't listen, so they decided to let him do as he pleased, he kind of earned that.

XXXXXX

The matches went almost like those who knew more than met the eye had predicted. The final roster of fighters had been decided, and Naruto was proud to be one of them, but there were consequences.

"Orochimaru-sama, what did you do to that Jinchuuriki boy?"

Once they were at a relatively safe distance from the other shinobi, Kabuto finally questioned his master's decisions.

"It's an old, abandoned procedure to ensure a tighter chakra flow." The snake Sannin explained, "Back in the day when some shinobi wanted to improve their strength they willingly removed a part of their chakra network. Of course, that was a handicap, but it allowed them a far easier access to more chakra … However, it was only because they completely destroyed the chakra network of their legs."

Kabuto was interested, "So it gave them greater upper body strength, right?"

"And allowed them to still use jutsus by using their hands." Orochimaru continued, "It was a sacrifice some took. They had to train their legs rigorously to keep up with other shinobi, and it made them unable to walk on trees or water but made their strikes far heavier and made using hand signs a breeze."

"But since you took his arms, he can't perform any jutsu he had mastered." Kabuto concluded.

The pale man cackled briefly, "That Jinchuuriki can still fight, but no longer can he hope to surpass those that can summon fire at will…"

"You still gave him a bestial lower body strength, Orochimaru-sama." The spectacled spy retorted.

Orochimaru scoffed, "And it's all he'll ever have. The likes of Sasuke-kun can use countless jutsus, while he will just weight down our dear Uchiha boy. When Sasuke-kun realizes it, he will come to me. After all, what can a little crippled kid do against the likes of someone who has been blessed since birth?"

Said boy was resting on his own bed, pondering on everything that happened after the matches. His legs, after being forced to fight for however many hours it took him to get his team a clear shot to get the scroll they needed, had been aching. Cuts, bruises, and of course the strain he put his muscles through to kick Kiba and Akamaru in the face… It felt worth it, he couldn't lie about that.

Several things happened, almost all battles had ended with blood, he was approached by the makeup wearing Sand shinobi who he did not trust or like in the slightest, and Hinata had… "I have to find a way to be stronger…" he growled, lifting his pants and looking at his legs.

After a good night's rest, his flesh was healed like nothing had ever happened, mostly thanks to the one residing in his gut. However, the fox's chakra couldn't help his clothing, so he was forced to wear his orange shorts for warm weather and, since he had nothing else, a black muscle shirt. Like before, he had his headband wrapped on his right bicep, and thus his hair had become changed from an urchin into a messy mop.

And he had to find someone that could train him, someone that could understand his dilemma, someone… that was youthful.

After entering Rock Lee's hospital room he found his sensei, Maito Gai, about to leave, "Oh, Naruto." He had lost some of the spark in his eyes, "Are you here to visit Lee too?"

The blond nodded, "And for something else…"

The fuzzy browed man sighed tiredly, "I'm afraid it's no use, Lee's sleeping right now, though I had to…" he shook his head, "Sorry, I shouldn't be this pessimist with someone my student considers his rival."

Naruto perked up, "I… I see, I'm glad to hear it!" he was surprised, but to hear something that nice was a welcomed change of pace, "Listen, Super Fuzzy Brow-sensei… I need you to train me."

Despite how bushy his eyebrows were, Gai would never take anything related to them as an insult. What he did was take the last sentence with surprise, "Wait, wait, wait! Are you serious?! Naruto, you will face one of my own students in the final part of the exams! I-"

"I can't use chakra…" Naruto told the man, flexing one arm, "At least, my arms can't use chakra anymore."

That was intriguing to say the least, "Explain yourself, please." The green clad man said in a serious tone not even a certain scarecrow saw much of.

"Back at the forest there was this weirdo disguised as a genin. He attacked us and decided to destroy my arms' chakra network for fun…" he growled that part out, nearly spitting out venom before staring at the youthful Jounin in the eye and trying to be the most serious he could ever be, "That is why I need your help, Gai-sensei. You and Lee made it this far without chakra, and… I also want to be that sand bastard."

Gai tensed, but his expression remained stoic, "You attempt to avenge Lee as well?"

Naruto nodded, his fists tightened so hard his knuckles turned white, "Neji, Gaara, and that freak at the forest, they all rely on something they take for granted. You and Lee worked hard to get where you are, so I want to show them, no, I want to show everyone what I can do with what I have."

"An impressive speech." Another voice said.

It was then that Naruto noticed someone else had visited Lee, most likely pulled by their sensei, "Neji…" Tenten started, frowning at her teammate.

"You're actually begging your enemy's teacher to help you beat him?" Neji mocked, "Not only that, you just admitted how weak you've become… I am in awe, really. I mean, how dumb do you need to be to see that fate itself isn't going to grant you any favors?"

"Then let's make a bet!" Naruto shouted at the Hyuuga boy, his glare so hot it could melt steel, "We will fight in a month at the tournament, and if I lose, and that is a very big IF, then I'll quit being a ninja!"

Neji smirked while Tenten and Gai gasped at what Naruto just said, "Putting on such bravado will get you nowhere… But fine, let's see if you really can keep your word. I accept." He shrugged, extending his hand, which Naruto shook. The Byakugan user noted how the blond tried to break his hand with his grip but didn't let it show, "What happens if I lose? Do you want me to apologize and say you're stronger than me?"

"And you'll do so on your hands and knees!" Naruto declared before pulling his hand back, "And…" he pointed at Gai, "You'll have to wear Fuzzy Brow's frog suit for five years!"

Neji was taken back, he even took a step back, "Wait, what?! I didn't agree on-" he glared at Tenten who started to giggle, failing to conceal her laughing fit with her hand on her mouth.

"You already shook hands, Neji." Gai said… while in his mind images of him and his two male students frolicking in a field of youth wearing his trademark green outfit made him nearly tear up.

Naruto sealed the deal with one taunt, "What's the matter? Scared?"

Neji and the blond locked glares, managing a very strained smile, "I won't let anyone know what happened to you… so that I can destroy you utterly when you have to face your fate."

"I'll look forward to it." Naruto said with a forced smirk.

The two brown haired teens left Naruto and Gai to talk of the former's new training regime… and once out of the hospital, the lavender eyed boy had to stop for a few seconds to hold his hand with gritted teeth. Even without chakra, Naruto's grip had been strong enough to make the Hyuuga's façade nearly fall.

XXXXXX

Gai had one simple question when he and his new disciple reached the middle of a clearing in a forest of the Leaf to start training.

"Are you sure about this, Naruto?" he finally dropped the bomb, "You could have asked Kakashi for help, I bet even with your arms the way they are now he could teach you something."

Naruto shook his head, "Nah, I bet he'd actually dump me to train Sasuke to fight that ring-eyed freak." And cue a sneeze from said scarecrow, "Besides, I've seen the way Lee can throw some kicks, so I want to learn that."

Gai hummed, "You're asking me to simply train your legs, but that would leave you at a disadvantage."

"It's the only strength I have." Naruto countered.

Gai nodded, "You're right, but it's also a weakness, a weakness we have to balance." He grinned, "Luckily for you, you chose the right master for it. If your legs are the ones that will do all the attacking, then your arms should help them regardless of whether you use chakra or not."

After saying that, the man lifted his right foot above his head at an angle Naruto would have thought impossible, "But you didn't use your arms at all!"

"Don't be fooled, look at them!" Gai said with his beaming smile, and the kid finally noticed the guard the man had, "When I threw my kick, I not only kept my arms up to make sure my guard wasn't down even when I attacked, but…" put his foot down and stretched his other leg, perfectly parallel to the ground, "…I can also use them to keep my balance like this."

Naruto stared at his arms before nodding, "Then where do we start?"

Gai grinned, and Naruto knew he'd be in for a hellish training, but if he could put his foot on Neji's face it'd be worth it.

That day Naruto kicked the air for about twenty thousand nine hundred and eighty seven times. All the while he had been listening to Gai telling him that if he couldn't do a kick properly he'd have to try another a certain amount of times. The blond understood why Lee was so strong, but not once did he complain, not even when he wanted to.

When the sky was dark and the only light was from the stars, Gai finally tried to stop Naruto, "You're still nowhere close to finding your balance, but you're improved your technique a bit. Tomorrow we shall start stretching exercises to give you the flexibility needed for more advanced techniques, then-"

"Let's do it now!" the sweat drenched blond exclaimed, although he regretted it for he had already been out of breath, "I… I can't get as strong as… you or Lee… if I don't push myself like you…" he took a deep breath before stepping forward to the green clad man, "So please, don't let me stop until I fall down!"

Gai looked at the boy, his clothes were completely soaked with sweat and his legs were shaking from the exhaustion, and yet those blue eyes still had a lot of life in them.

"Well said!" he gave the kid his trademark Nice Guy pose, complete with shining teeth.

Naruto returned the thumb up.

From then on things had turned quite intense, not only from the intensive training but other events like meeting Gaara in Lee's room and hearing how much of a nihilist he was.

Though it gave Naruto more of a reason to train and put up with whatever Gai could throw at him until he passed out. Surprisingly, Naruto didn't go down easily even if it was Gai the one training him. Maybe the rumors of the Uzumaki clan having a lot of vitality weren't just rumors. But the youthful Jounin still found ways to give the kid a few visions of what Hell could be like.

Without a functioning chakra flow his arms had to be trained extra hard so push-ups became as regular as squats and kicks.

At least Gai did tell him how to walk on water to better control his legs' chakra for more efficient kicking.

But then some of the man's ideas were highly questioned by Naruto.

"A diet?!" Naruto nearly cried.

Gai flashed him a smile, "Fish, salad and water from now on, Naruto-kun! If you want your muscles to use all their strength, you will need to eat food which nutrients will help you for this entire month."

That was one, the other…

"We have to build resistance on your abdomen!" the man shouted at the blond currently hanging from a tree, tied by his legs and moving his torso back and forth to strengthen his abs and back. Sadly for him, Gai was ready to greet him with a punch to the gut every time he was done to get him to build that resistance.

And there was one time in which he had to climb a waterfall by running… without chakra.

Naruto could only groan every time he woke up. He was barely at his apartment anymore, it was actually clean from one time he pondered to take a rest from the training, and his fridge had only fish, salad and bottles of water in it. He still went back to the clearing to take whatever pain the green clad man would dish out until he passed out.

In the middle of their training, Gai had an odd idea, "Naruto, I know you wish to defeat Neji this way, but despite your condition you have one advantage Lee and I don't."

"What is it?" the boy asked, pausing from kicking a huge boulder into pebbles.

Gai grinned and pulled out a small slip of paper, "You'll have to hold this between your fingers… Uh… between your toes, and channel some chakra into it."

Naruto did as told, putting the piece of paper between his toes and focusing his chakra on it, seeing it do something quite surprising, "It split up!"

"That paper is used to determine the kind of chakra a shinobi uses, yours is wind. Lee and I can do stuff like walk on surfaces and water but we can't do jutsus as complicated as a fireball. I just thought to give you an edge in your fight with Neji, and it seems it's a more literal one than I imagined." Gai then put a hand on his chin, "Lucky for you, I know the man that can teach you, but he may be busy training his own student…"

"Who is it?!" the blond asked, before a thought hit him, "Wait, can I ask you a favor?"

The bowl cut wearing man leaned his head to the side, "It depends, though. What are you worried about?"

"You see how much I've changed, right?" Gai nodded, "I'd like to keep this a secret for now, Gai-sensei. I want to surprise everyone with how much I've changed thanks to you. So I'd like you to ask this guy how to use wind chakra."

There was something Gai could respect on that. Naruto lost a lot and wanted to show everyone how much he changed for the better despite something that would have broken others down. It was a will to keep on fighting, to truly change fate, that showed how filled with determination Naruto truly was.

Of course, Gai agreed and had to add wind chakra training to their regime… It was quite odd to see Naruto press a leaf between the soles of his feet before moving to bigger stuff, but it showed how far someone could go for their dream.

And on the final day of training, when the night covered the entire place, Gai approached the blond, "You've done exceptionally well, my new disciple. Lee and I decided to reward your efforts, whether you win or lose."

Naruto was taken aback when the man handed him a package, "Wait, Lee and you bought me something?"

Gai gave him a thumb up, "Like I said, you have a long way to go to master this style you've taken, but we thought you could use something to help with your defense. Open it."

Naruto did and nearly squealed in joy at what it was, "Thanks, Gai-sensei! I mean it… Thank you!"

He gave the man a deep bow, which Gai replied with one of his own, "It's a teacher's duty to help a person to surpass their limits. I can't wait to see how far you go."

"I'm not planning on stopping, not now or ever!" he pulled his gift, a pair of gauntlets to reinforce the use of his arms for defense, "If Lee is going to become a great Jounin with taijutsu only, I'll become Hokage using only my feet!"

The man roared in good hearted laughter, "Well said!" however, his laughter slowed down and his features softened, "Naruto… can I ask you a favor?"

"What is it?" the boy asked curiously.

Gai sighed, "When you face Neji, there is something you must know about him. With how much you've grown, I think you're the one that knock some sense into him… That is why I want you to promise me that no matter what, when it's time for you two to fight… you won't let anything he says get to you."

"I…" Naruto started, looking down, "I can't promise that, sorry… I don't care what he may have gone through at this point, after the way he acted I just want to show him how full of crap he is."

Surprisingly, Gai smiled, "I see, you have very strong beliefs… Ok, I'll tell you…"

XXXXXX

The day of the final part of the Chuunin tests had arrived and everyone was ready, except for two, Sasuke and Naruto.

Some people were worried, but Tenten had to address her sensei at her side, "Gai-sensei, are you sure this is ok? Neji is your student, and Naruto's his opponent."

Gai beamed, "A teacher's job is to help those that seek for him, and both are shinobi of the Leaf."

"I can see your point, but even if you helped him, there's no way Neji could lose." She sounded a bit sad, "I… I've had a hard time helping Neji train knowing of that bet. At first I thought Naruto would come and try to talk his way out of it, but… if he loses… I don't… I don't think I could see that."

Gai laughed, "My cute little disciple is like Lee and I, so don't worry, even if it's impossible or laughable, he will push through. And if the world tries to shove him down, he'll push harder!"

Lee, who had been taken on a wheelchair by Gai to see the match, was burning, "I can't wait to see the fruit of Naruto-san's efforts! I bet his youth must burn even more passionately than ever if he was with you through this ordeal, Gai-sensei!"

"You bet, Lee!" the man boomed with a laugh, leaving Tenten to sigh at the duo's father-son antics.

"I hope you're right." She mumbled.

Meanwhile, Sakura was fretting, "Come on, you two…"

"What's the matter?" Ino asked as she approached her, "You know Sasuke won't lose easily… or are you worried about Naruto?"

Sakura sighed, "I'm…. not sure… I guess I worry more about Naruto now…" she looked down, "I should have never let him go this far. He'll only hurt himself."

That worried the blonde, "What do you mean? Did something happen to him?"

Sakura was about to reply but the referee cut her off, "We can't delay this any further, if Naruto Uzumaki doesn't arrive for the first match, his opponent Neji Hyuuga will win by-"

"Dynamic…"

Every fighter, mostly Neji, tensed at hearing that voice, the brunet whipping his head to look at the large gates to the arena, "Is this a joke?" he thought that the blond would have quit when he realized his mistake.

"ENTRY!"

He certainly didn't expect to see the doors get kicked open by a flying Naruto, who upon landing skidded to a halt before looking up with a grin at the others that made Gai and Lee proud.

Several things happened when the cloud of dust that Naruto's feet kicked up on his landing settled down. Most kunoichi, including Tenten and Temari, blushed. A certain smoking Jounin felt his cigarette slip from his lips. Everyone else was confused if not shocked at the sight. Hinata's little sister Hanabi realized why her sibling acted the way she did while Hinata became redder than a tomato. Chouji even stopped eating.

Kiba had to rub his eyes, "Is that… Naruto…?"

Said boy did notice some changes as the result of his training when one morning he looked at himself on the mirror. He had trained so rigorously he didn't even glance at himself and just changed out of his pajamas until one day. At the moment he was clad in only his boxers and then he could finally see the transformation, he had lost a lot of weight. His arm could fit in his boxers, for starters.

At the time he hadn't recalled that he started using his headband as a waistband when in one training session his clothes felt loose. Not only that, his arms were still lean but heavily marked with muscle, his shoulders had broadened a bit, he had an iron hard six pack, and steel pectorals.

Last but not least, he had let his hair grow into a messy mop that was slowly covering his ear, so he pulled it back to see that his face had lost a good amount of baby fat. After getting that shock out of the way, the boy went to the nearest for a new set of clothes. Gai had been surprising at seeing him, but ended up giving him another Nice Guy trademark grin.

The boy that arrived at the tournament had blond hair pulled back in a spiky mane that reached his chin. His strong arms could be seen fully since now he wore only an orange vest with his clan's symbol on his back and pouches for kunais and shuriken. His heavily trained legs were hidden by a pair of black baggy pants with a pouch for kunais on his right leg, and his feet were covered by steel-toe black combat boots.

His headband rested on his right biceps once again, and his arms were now guarded by Gai's present, a pair of black, fingerless steel gauntlets. The armor was thin but looked really sturdy, and one could tell by the way Naruto walked that he had confidence in them.

Then the blond chuckled dumbly while rubbing the back of his head, "Sorry about the wait… I ran up into some bulls."

True enough, about a couple dozen bulls were on the other side of the gates… with Naruto's boots imprinted on their bodies.

"That is quite the interesting shinobi you have there, Hokage-sama." The supposed Kazekage told Sarutobi.

"Indeed, though I'm having trouble believing who he is… He's changed quite a lot." The old monkey admitted.

Naruto grinned sheepishly at the referee, "I'm not too late, am I? I have a bet I came to win."

He and Neji shot each other glares, and the referee knew things would get out of hand if blood didn't start flying.

Soon both were face to face, Neji taking his traditional stance the Hyuuga clan kept passing on, and Naruto in a different one. Naruto's legs were spread with his left foot forward, the knees bent, and he had his left hand down at his waist's level while keeping his right near his chest while facing forward. Neji could tell by the way his opponent got into position that there was a clear improvement.

 **NARUTO UZUMAKI VS. NEJI HYUUGA**

 **THE LIGHT'S PIERCING THE DARK EYES!**

 **ROUND 1!**

 **BEGIN!**

"I'm amazed you still want to fight me… But this is as far as you can go." Neji said, focusing on his opponent, "You can actually save yourself the humiliation and simply give u-"

Neji was unable to finish that sentence when Naruto disappeared in a blur of speed, forcing the Hyuuga to use his clan's eyes to find him. Naruto hadn't disappeared, he had jumped straight at him, "Will you shut up?!" the airborne blond roared with his right foot lifted above his head, bringing his heel down on the Byakugan user.

The brunet stepped back, clenching his jaw when the younger boy's heel managed to scrape his cheek. But that wasn't enough to make his pride hurt. Naruto's heel hit the floor after missing its mark, the blond landed doing a perfect split with the entire length of his legs on the ground. The instant his boot touched the ground, Neji could feel it shake with a crater the size of a grown man's torso beneath the kid's foot.

Neji would have attacked there and then, but Naruto effortlessly pulled his legs back together, standing up with great ease before taking his stance again, this time grinning. The crowd was already starting to whisper about how the blond dead last had managed to harm a prodigy without getting hit first. Feelings mixed in awe and disbelief, though Neji's were pure anger at both himself for his carelessness and the blond.

The brunet scoffed, "It seems you really like pushing your luck."

"It's what I live for!" Naruto enthusiastically replied.

Naruto didn't waste any time again, he straight up ran and started throwing kicks. Neji would have chortled dismissively at such strikes any other time, but when Naruto's right leg had been about to meet one of his paralyzing strikes the younger shinobi's other leg was up. Despite his training, Neji knew he couldn't take hits from the blond, not after what happened to Kiba, even if he didn't want to admit it.

Neji side-stepped the strike, belittling himself briefly for letting the blond get this close to him. It was a grave mistake, for the blond hadn't tried to kick him with his left leg, instead he used the momentum to spin his body around and bring up his right leg. This time, Neji had to use both hands to take the strike and attempt to stop it, his palms colliding with the smaller genin's shin. And that was his mistake.

"Grk!" Neji audibly cringed when the Jinchuuriki's leg connected with his defense, bending his arms back despite the amount of chakra he poured to paralyze the limb and push Naruto back.

"Ora!" Naruto shouted when his shin finally made contact with Neji's ribs, making the Hyuuga lose his breath and almost return his lunch, "Urya!" this time Naruto brought his other heel to his opponent's gut, "Get!" he howled, lifting his right foot and aiming the upper side at Neji's face, "Bent!"

All that Neji knew next was that he was spinning in the air, his equilibrium completely gone before he finally smashed against something, a wall that had been a good thirty feet behind him moments ago. The audience was stunned into silence while the Hyuuga slid off, still breathing but looking beyond shocked and slowly but surely growing enraged.

"H-How…?!" Neji growled, "Do you think you can… change what life has done to you…?! You can't even use your arms for fighting or jutsus!"

Everyone watching was even more stunned at such a revelation.

Naruto just smirked, "It's simple…" he got into his stance, as did the furious Neji, "I simply don't care!"

"What?!" Neji felt like a vein was about to pop in his head.

"I don't care whether it's the rules of nature or whatever, what matters is what I do here and now with what I have!" the blond then returned the glare he was receiving from his opponent, "Keep whining about how fate does things all you want, because I will do what I want with my life, starting by making you eat your words!"

"Don't act so self-righteous!" Neji shouted back, "I hit you, and soon you won't be able to move at your full speed."

Naruto brought up his right knee, all the while locking glares with the brunet, "I didn't train my legs for nothing… There was only one thing I cared about when I asked Gai-sensei to train me, just one. If I couldn't get through your defense with my own tricks, I wanted to break it with my kicks!"

Things seemed to go weird when everyone watched Naruto crouching, his legs bent with his knees above the ground, his chest near the ground, and one hand on the floor. Before anyone could question if he was serious or criticize him for that odd pose he leapt. The blond jumped right at the brunet like a frog, but unlike a frog he rolled his body in the air, bringing his feet up to slam them down on Neji.

"Not good enough!" Neji shouted, raising his arms to stop Naruto's feet from hitting his face. "You're too easy to read, you fool-"

"Ora!" Naruto shouted midair, lifting up his feet and slamming them down in a rain of kicks, "Ora, ora, ora!"

Neji ground his teeth while forcing his hands to parry each of the younger fighter's kicks. The whiskered genin's legs moved in a blur, at times even disappearing from view with every new kick Naruto delivered. Neji noticed his opponent was getting faster and faster, trying hard to kick his face in. Finally, Naruto had to land for he couldn't remain in the air forever, and both combatants took their distance.

"D-Damn you…" Neji cringed for his arms were covered in bruises.

"Did you think I'd train for nothing?" Naruto retorted, "Be as proud as you want of what you have, but if you believe I'll let you toy with people because of it, think again!" he bared his teeth, "Gai-sensei told me of you, of what happened to the Hyuuga clan and your father… But you know what?! You can keep clinging to that as much as you want and keep blaming fate for it!"

Neji wasn't angry anymore, he was livid, and he charged at Naruto, "Stop being so self-righteous!" he shouted, chakra swirling around his body.

Naruto slammed his left foot forward, bending the knee, "And you need to grow up and leave the past behind!" he spun his heel, "Instead of blaming fate, make your own future!"

Neji spun his body around, creating a perfect cocoon of spinning chakra that he intended to blast Naruto with. The blond for his part spun his body around, turning his back to Neji. The Hyuuga advanced, his chakra spinning with fury to crush the blond and send him flying back. The whiskered Uzumaki used the momentum of his waist turning to stretch his right leg backwards, aiming his heel at the brunet.

The air rippled around the entire arena, kicking dust and leaves from the nearby trees up into the air. At the Kage booth Sarutobi had to hold his breath at what he saw. Naruto's foot was covered in chakra, wind chakra. The instant his kick connected with the chakra cocoon, it cut right through like a knife on hot butter.

All Neji knew next was that a heel had been firmly connected with his chin, and next his body was sent flying back. It was then that Neji felt the full force of Naruto's legs, and the contestants, the referee, and the entire audience felt their jaws fall when the Hyuuga flew high into the air before crashing down on the stands. The referee could only gape at the sprawled genin on the stairs, said boy's mouth gaping in shock.

"D-Dammit… " the Hyuuga boy cursed, trying to lift his head, "H-How did he… get so…" he let his head fall down in exhaustion, it was clear Neji wouldn't move for the time being.

A certain Jounin placed a new cigarette in his mouth, lighting it up, "So that is why Gai asked me to tell him how to use wind chakra…"

Ino felt her jaw reach for the floor, "That can't be Naruto… since when did he get so hot?!"

Kiba gulped, "I'm glad I didn't face him here…"

Chouji actually lost his grip on his bag of chips, speechless.

Shikamaru grumbled, "Damn it, no way am I fighting him…"

Gaara simply stared intently at the blond, but the hint of an eager grin appeared on his face.

Kankuro watched in disbelief, "That pipsqueak really got stronger."

Little Hanabi Hyuuga felt like she understood why her sister crushed on the Uzumaki.

Sakura was as shocked as Ino, "Is there even a limit to what he won't try to do?"

Hinata smiled, happy that the blond won.

Temari for her part watched in interest, "Not bad…"

"That's the training of someone that knows how to enjoy their youth, Tenten!"

The poor brunette sighed, knowing she'd hear comments like that for a bit from her sensei and teammate.

Finally, Naruto lowered his foot with a grin of pride, before energetically bringing his arms up, "I did it!"

Just as he cheered, the entire crowd burst into applause and cheers of their own, amazed at the strength of the blond shinobi.

 **XXXXXX**

And that's my rap!

I hope you all enjoyed this. I've been practicing Lima Lama for some time, a Polynesian martial art that involves some good kicks. Unfortunately, I'm not very flexible despite my long legs, but little by little I feel like I'm growing stronger.

Thanks to that training I no longer feel afraid of many things, and I can even take some punches quite well from more experienced classmates. It doesn't mean I'm a tank, but I can at least stand pain more. It's a long way before I can do any crazy stuff, but seeing how much I've grown from a wimpy guy who'd never stand up for himself to someone who is unafraid to taking a punch, I feel glad I started training.

Thus, the idea for this came asking myself what would happen if Naruto had a handicap. I myself need glasses, which gives me a disadvantage when I'm sparring without them. Then I found some combo videos of Regal Bryant and Kim Kaphawn, and this came to mind.

I hope you enjoyed it.

Swordslinger out!


	2. Chapter 2

I OWN NOTHING

I'm not surprised you guys really wanted me to do this, granted when this chapter ends that may be it. I don't want to exploit this idea or run it dry. I had trouble thinking how to keep this going.

 **Author's note** : This will have Naruto interacting and making a bigger impact on other characters, so since girls are characters – believe it or not – I will clarify that despite anything there is still no pairing here. I'm just writing this for fun, so don't ask me to make any pairing you want to see. Seriously, I've had enough with people asking me to write their favorite pairings to levels I found creepy, like simply being in denial that only their favorite pairing and no other can work, to an inch short of being a death threat creepy.

Then again, this is the internet, asking someone to be polite is like asking Capcom to stop forcing DLC in their games nowadays.

 **Author's note 2** : I decided to give a name to Gai's kicking style which may or may not be canon since all I recall that has some details are the bloodlines. It's called the Dynamic Arts, or at least I call it that, and let's just say a certain blond is very good at them.

Recommended music for this chapter's fight scenes:

1st fight: Guilty Gear X2 OST - Momentary Life

2nd fight: Dynasty Warriors 8 Xtreme Legends OST - Top Speed Star

3rd fight: One Piece Pirate Warriors OST - Gear Second

 **XXXXXX**

While Naruto felt on top of the world as he walked to the bleachers, Orochimaru was cringing at his miscalculation. To see the boy defeat a Hyuuga of all people using only his legs… No, he shouldn't worry. Sasuke had the power of the Sharingan, a power of gods. It didn't matter what Naruto did, the snake would be victorious regardless of how much the boy trained. It didn't take a genius to see the Uzumaki's limits.

Sarutobi had a small smile, but was resisting a major grin to cover his face, "I can't believe how much he's grown in such a small amount of time…"

With the other contestants, Naruto couldn't help but flash them a cocky smirk, locking eyes with Gaara when the sand controlling shinobi passed him. The two had their eyes narrowed, Gaara's in interest and Naruto's set in a glare telling the petit redhead that he wanted to fight him with all he had. Finally Naruto rested at the rails with a smile and heard Shikamaru sigh.

"Ok, I'll bite… who the Hell are you and where's Naruto Uzumaki?" the lazy Nara managed to say without groaning.

"I've been training." Naruto replied, barely avoiding to giggle like a schoolgirl before lifting his right leg with his heel near the ceiling, "Pretty neat, huh? I knew Super Fuzzy Brow… I mean, Gai-sensei was strong, but I didn't think a good diet and training would do this. I think I may actually refrain from eating ramen now… well, I might… I..."

Shikamaru's palm had a nice introduction to his forehead, "Listen, if you keep winning treat yourself, don't try to think too much on a diet. I bet even Gai-sensei and Lee would agree you earned it after that."

Naruto's face lit up, as did Temari's as she approached him, "He's right. I must say, I am impressed to see how much you've changed." She said that, but her thoughts differed, ' _We will have to keep a close eye on him. Well, time to use the good old charm mom gave me._ '

The blond blushed but managed to not give in to temptation. He did give her a goofy, appreciative smile for the compliment, but he just remembered how Temari was basically the enemy given her connection to Gaara. She did have a nice body and good genes, but considering he wanted to face Gaara and put his feet on his face – or Sasuke's face if the Uchiha won – he knew going for tea after the match wouldn't happen.

Kankuro put on the same fake smile when he first tried to approach the kid at the previous part of the exams, "To think the Leaf can train their shinobi like this in such a short amount of time by using only your legs… Who knows? You may have more of a chance than anyone at becoming a Chuunin."

Naruto chuckled, "I know I will win!" he said with not a cocky or arrogant smirk, but a smile that said he knew it to be true. It was the same smile an innocent kid would have at saying such a thing, "I promised myself to never lose, no matter who or what I faced! There's no way I'm going down, not today, not now, and not ever!"

Shino stared at the blond intently, ' _He's different… My bugs are buzzing at ease with such confidence. Just what did you do to become that unafraid?_ '

However, someone was getting impatient, as did the crowd.

"Where's the Uchiha?" asked a very rich businessman, worried that his money and time would be wasted to not see the prodigy of the Leaf.

Soon people started to get mad, and Naruto could see Gaara ready for battle. It didn't seem to show, but the small redhead with practically oozing venom with his desire to kill. Naruto for his part started to tap his toe on the floor while leaning on the railing, being as impatient as the ring-eyed boy. It didn't take a genius to know the blond really wanted to fight either of them.

"Dammit, where is he?" Naruto whispered.

Shikamaru leaned his head, "What do you mean where is he? You mean Sasuke?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah. I mean, he could be with Kakashi-sensei, but I haven't seen them at all this entire month. I was too busy training with Gai-sensei to really care. It wouldn't surprise me if Kakashi-sensei decided to train him on his own, though Sasuke could still act like he can do this on his own."

The laziest shinobi nodded, he could see either of those being the case. Granted, Naruto was acting even more of a child than before, grumbling like one, "You really wanted to fight him, didn't you?"

The blond sighed, "Did you think I trained this month just to beat Neji? I'm in this to be number one. If Gaara wins by default and I get to beat him… it'll be like I trained for a half-assed victory."

Shikamaru cringed, "Hey, hey, aren't you biting more than you can chew? Perhaps you should quit while you're ahead…" he saw the boy tense, "You may have beaten Neji, but that sand freak-"

"I'm crippled, I know that!" Naruto snapped, glaring at the now retreating Nara, "I know better than anyone that I can't use clones, illusions, or shoot fire or lightning like every other shinobi can! But so do Gai-sensei and Lee, and they haven't stopped! That's why I've trained with all I have, to fight with what little it is and prove not only to everyone but to myself that I can become Hokage!"

Shino looked away but spoke up, "Naruto, you're still being unreasonable. A Kage has power beyond your imagination, to match them with just your legs is a huge disadvantage."

"Fighting is always unfair, get it over with!" the whiskered boy was really mad, "Fighting is always about fighting someone different than you whether they're weak or strong! It doesn't matter if you're scared for me or not, I've made my choice! I want to fight and win, to truly be on top for once in my life! I'm tired of life making me the dead last, the loser, so this time I want to grab victory when I still can!"

Everything was dead silent, mostly because Naruto had no indoors voice and everyone in the stands heard him. Even a newly awakened Neji had little trouble knowing who could be that loud.

Which is why Gaara was clearly and terrifyingly audible, "Proctor." The man turned in surprise to the redhead, "If my opponent doesn't show… I want to fight that boy, Naruto Uzumaki."

One of the spectators cheered, "Yeah, let us see that Uzumaki fight them whether the Uchiha comes or not!"

Some of the Leaf shinobi were shocked as some of the foreigners and even some of the villagers started to cheer not for Sasuke showing, but to see Naruto fight:

"He can do it, can't he?! He can win with just kicks!"

"Come on, Uchiha! Come here so you can fight him!"

"Let him fight the Uchiha if he's that strong!"

"We want to see a good fight like the one before!"

"Hey Uchiha, you better get here to let us see you fight Uzumaki!"

"Or just say if you're too scared to fight him!"

"Let us see if you're as strong as Naruto makes you out to be!"

Naruto was perhaps the most stunned of everyone. The people weren't cheering for Sasuke, they were cheering for him. They wanted to see him, the dead last, fight with all his might like he had done. Everyone in the bleachers stared at the blue eyed Uzumaki, seeing him tremble with his emotions boiling. Shikamaru and Shino took a step back, knowing what would happen.

"Yeah! Come on, Sasuke! I didn't train just to lose an opportunity to kick your ass!" the hot-blooded Uzumaki yelled, throwing his fist in the air.

Sakura could only place her hand on her face, "It's like he just became an infection… But…" she pulled her face off her hands, and looked as nearly everyone called for Sasuke to arrive so Naruto could fight him or Gaara, "Naruto did train for this, to show everyone how strong he's become… I'm… actually both surprised and terrified."

Ino was less calm, "Come on, Sasuke-kun, get here quickly so Naruto-kun can get to fight you! And do your best, Naruto-kun! You deserve to kick some ass!"

Sakura stared blankly at the Yamanaka girl, "I take it back, I'm more terrified of you right now."

Due to the crowd wanting to see the boy that surpassed the limits put on him by the whims of the universe, it was decided that Gaara's fight would be put last and that the crowd would wait for the Uchiha to arrive. The matches went on as one would or wouldn't expect. Kankuro had forfeited his, and Naruto pushed Shikamaru into a fight with Temari the Nara barely won by using his wit.

So when it came for Gaara to fight again, the sleep deprived boy was eagerly waiting to see if it'd be Sasuke or Naruto's blood that'd taint his sand.

And the crowd grew bored, some of the businessmen already arguing, "What's with that Uchiha?! We paid good money for these seats and even give him extra time to see that Uzumaki kid fight him! Outrageous!"

Sarutobi sighed while the man in the Kazekage robes spoke up, "Perhaps we can give him more time… It'd be a shame to not see your prodigy fight my son."

The old monkey would have disagreed, but could tell something for certain, "That boy better arrive, because the one that won't forgive him is Naruto. He won't forgive Sasuke if after everything he did to become stronger any chance for them to fight is taken away."

The crowd grew madder, and the referee knew they would start calling for blood, "Sir." a shinobi spoke up to the Hokage, "We shouldn't keep them waiting, it'd be best if we have Naruto fight Gaara."

It was with a nod from the Hokage that Naruto and Gaara were before each other, the blond looked beyond disappointed at losing a chance to face Sasuke seriously in battle. However, something burned deep in his mind, something he told one Maito Gai. The redhead before him was someone he wanted to beat because of what he did to Lee. The one with the Kazekage hat bit back a growl of disappointment.

The proctor approached the two fighters, Naruto getting into a stance and Gaara staring intently at him, "For how strong you made that Uchiha sound, you placed yourself on a higher pedestal." He grinned wickedly, "That is why I must ask… what will happen when I break your legs?"

Naruto gave the eloquent reply of, "Then I'll bite your kneecaps off!"

"Wait a minute." The referee said, "You two will only fight if the Uchiha doesn't arrive soon."

The entire audience started to boo the man, throwing garbage and junk food at the now blank-faced proctor who could only mutter how he hated his job at that moment. Naruto let out an irritated humph, "Fine. I guess I can wait. But if he does show up, I'm not going to let him live down the fact he's tardier than Kakashi-sensei." The boy sat cross-legged with an angry squinty-eyed face.

Gaara remained where he was, arms crossed, "I guess waiting will make your blood taste better. People say hunger is the best spice."

Naruto blinked, "Did you just tell a joke? Man, you must be way more bored than I am…" Indeed the blond was bored, he just rested flat on his right side, using his right arm to keep his head up. However, the blond lifted his left hand, showing a familiar cork in it, "You can also cut the crap…" he growled at the raccoon-like boy whose sand started to flow out.

Gaara smiled in his own creepy want-to-make-blood-rain way, "You trained your legs for offense but your arms for defense… I can't really wait to fight you."

After tossing aside the cork, Naruto started to tap his fingers on the ground while the spectators grew restless.

It was then that a gust of wind revealed one black clad Sasuke standing back to back with Kakashi, the ever tardy Jounin giving the referee an apologetic look with his only eye, "I'm sorry. We're not late for Sasuke's match, are w-" and he had to dodge a can thrown at him, "Wh-What's going on?! I thought we would have time, and-"

And he didn't get to say more as the people in the stands started to shout at him, simultaneously throwing everything they could at the man and a now shocked Sasuke.

"You asshole! You're late!"

"We've waited to see this match for a long time!"

"Don't you dare act all goofy!"

"We want to see the Uzumaki boy fight soon!"

"He should be disqualified!"

"Just let us see a good fight!"

The proctor groaned and grabbed Kakashi by the back of his neck, gripping him tight enough to let him know he was mad too, "Kakashi, if it weren't because these two wanted to fight the Uchiha boy, he'd have been disqualified. We even put a time limit and I was about to start the match."

Sasuke stared at Gaara and the other person on the floor, who lazily stared at him with a grumpy look on his face, "Who are you?"

Kakashi finally noticed the odd blond boy, "That is… a very good question. How are you fighting in Sasuke's place?"

Naruto stood up, pointing to his whiskered cheeks, "It's me, dammit!"

Kakashi's eye threatened to pop out of its socket, "Naruto?! Wait, what happened to you?! Did you actually hit puberty or-"

Naruto snapped at the man who embodied lateness, "I just knew you'd train Sasuke, so I went to train with Gai-sensei! I spent an entire month working my ass off to finally fight either him or Gaara! I just kicked Neji's ass so hard I may as well have shoe polish made to remove buttocks smell!"

The proctor, Genma, sighed, "As childish as it sounds, you two owe him one. If it weren't for how he handled that fight the entire audience wouldn't have tried to put up with waiting for Sasuke to arrive. They just want to see Naruto fight whoever wins this match."

Sasuke stared wide-eyed at the blond, sheer disbelief on his face, ' _Has he really become that strong training under that taijutsu maniac? But with his arms like that, how could he have beaten that Hyuuga?_ '

Naruto faced Sasuke, stretching a fist to the onyx-eyed boy, "Listen well, Sasuke, I trained to surpass you with what I have. I don't care if it's my legs, my arms, my eyes, my ears, or even all my chakra that someone takes from me. I came here to show I can win this!" he pulled back his fist, "So you better not lose after all the trouble I went through! I want to know I got to be stronger than you fair and square!"

The crowd cheered for the blond boy, not even letting Sasuke get a comment before Naruto returned to the bleachers and let the match unfold. The raven haired boy had just one question in his head, ' _How did he become that way? If it were true that all it took was determination and effort, everyone could get stronger. So what did he do?_ '

It didn't matter what he asked, there was a match that everyone was tired of waiting for.

XXXXXX

Watching Sasuke fight Gaara made the blond resist the urge to glare at Kakashi, who took only one of his students to train with him. Granted, it was to fight a psychopath, but Naruto was forced to fight a sociopath that like Gaara to Sasuke was stronger than him. Neji did train on his own in his family's style with Tenten's help, so Gai had enough time to teach him. Though he would have liked to learn how to use lightning kicks.

Jealousy? No, Naruto knew of the power in his legs, which was why he really wanted to face the Uchiha, for just like with Sasuke's Chidori, Naruto had a trick up his pants-sleeves. He had learned wind chakra and added it to his kicks, yet one would be a fool to think that an entire month of training intensely with the youthful Gai would lead to just that. It was something he was glad Neji didn't focus on.

Naruto was sure he would win because he didn't let himself fall easily in his training!

Which is why when Sand shinobi started attacking and some targeted him and Sakura, the boy's blood boiled hot enough to melt steel, "Piss off!"

Many of the invading forces gaped at the sight of an entire platoon flying back with boots imprinted on their ribcages, ensuring some broken bones and damaged organs. As they landed on the arena, Naruto noticed a certain Nara near him, snoring… He gently lifted him by the shoulders and shook him with all gentleness thrown out the window, like he were trying to make a milkshake in Shikamaru's head.

"Dammit, I'm not a ragdoll, you-" And the stare that Naruto gave him, more like a glare, stopped his train of thought.

"You're coming with us!" the blond said, dragging the Nara by the collar while he and Sakura started to follow Sasuke, "We need to stop Sasuke and that ring-eyed creep!"

"How do you even plan to…" Shikamaru started to ask before Naruto hefted him on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, before doing the same with a flushed and shocked Sakura, "…catch him?"

After he finished his sentence, Naruto got into a sprinting position, "Just point the way, Sakura!"

The girl nodded quickly after getting over the fact that he had been really working out under Gai, and did as told. Almost leaving a sonic boom behind, Naruto dashed forward with Shikamaru and Sakura having to hold on to him to avoid getting pulled back by the wind barrier he was breaking through.

Meanwhile, a certain youthful man smirked at the remaining forces while cracking his knuckles, "That's one of my disciples, and for you who have decided to take the match he risked his youth for… There shall be nor mercy!"

Never again would Sand shinobi question how ridiculous a middle-aged man in thighs was given the fact one was kicking their asses like they owed him money.

Kakashi sighed, "They didn't even want to wait for me to help guide them, but I guess I can't complain now." He said and started to engage the invading forces. He couldn't let Gai get ahead, not because the scarecrow wanted to win, but because the green clad sensei wouldn't let him live it down and would demand a rematch as soon as possible after that.

He did a quick hand-seal, sending some help to the three genins.

However, with Naruto and his group some complications did make themselves known. The blond stopped abruptly, his feet leaving a trail on the dirt of the forest as he skidded to a stop. Shikamaru and Sakura were just thankful they could breathe properly after getting pushed back by the wind barrier Naruto was trying to break. They stopped being thankful when seeing who stood in their way.

"So you're either gutsy or foolish enough that you think you have a chance to beat Gaara." Said Gaara's sister, sneering at them at the idea that she left her brothers get far ahead with the Uchiha hot on their tail, but... "I wouldn't have come this far unless I didn't actually believe there was someone like you around. It wasn't hard, though, seeing how people treat you like Gaara."

Naruto set down his fellow Leaf shinobi, "You two go on ahead… I'll take care of this chick." The other Fire Country genin were about to protest, but the blond snapped, "Just go, there's no way I'm losing to her!"

Temari nearly snorted but refrained from doing so, she was a kunoichi of high standards, "He is right. I don't care where you two run, I just can't let this kid run around after seeing what he can do."

Sakura was about to protest, but Shikamaru yanked her forward, "You heard them, if you want to help just move! Think more about the bigger picture than just one guy!"

She dashed as fast as she could, but not without calling out to the blond, "Naruto, don't lose!"

The blond grinned, "Did you forget?! I'm not losing ever again!"

 **NARUTO UZUMAKI VS. TEMARI OF THE SAND**

 **THE WIND IS HOWLING… STAND OR FLY AWAY!**

 **ROUND 1!**

 **BEGIN!**

Temari couldn't help the look on her face that said she was going to enjoy this, "We shall see how long that determination can stand when I break what little you have." Narrowing his eyes, Naruto took his stance, making her grin while she readied her fan at her side, "Let me teach you how to properly use wind!"

Done hesitating and feeling weak, Naruto lunged at the Sand kunoichi with a leg up, which the pigtailed girl stopped with her fan to measure his might. Much to her surprise, the kid's leg wasn't cut like she expected it to be. Not only had that, but she, a kunoichi with the Kazekages blood, felt pain! Temari took a step back, while her arms went numb. Had she not been at least on the level of a Jounin, her bones would've broken.

Now she stared at Naruto not with disdain or confidence, but acknowledgement, "I don't know much about how to use wind…" the blond admitted before lifting his right leg, "I do know I have to fight you! Even if I lose, I can't step back here and now after the promise I made to myself! It doesn't matter if I'm the last man standing, I will let you know what someone can do when they surpass their limits!"

She growled, but a hint of a smirk showed on her face, "Then let's see how far you can go." She was really starting to like the boy… too bad he was an enemy.

Wasting no time at all to try to kick the smile off the girl's face, Naruto jumped at the sandy haired lass. The difference with that jump and the one before was that Temari saw the ground crack under the smaller and younger-looking ninja's feet from the force. With gritted teeth, the more experienced wind chakra user stepped back and tried to connect a strike with her fan on the kid's side.

This time she was stopped when Naruto's armored arm swatted aside the heavy weapon without getting cut by the wind blade she unleashed. Even if the strong-willed Uzumaki's arms could not use chakra, Gai had taught Naruto how to fight, and the best way he could do so was by fighting the blond himself. Why? Because the best way to teach the Uzumaki was to make him know he could live or die in battle.

"You're nowhere near a man that hasn't looked behind and seen a regret in his youth!" Gai was really rubbing off on him.

"You've only discovered wind chakra, sweetie!" she shouted, adding in some flirting to get him confused while she fully opened her fan forward for a direct strike, aiming some good wind chakra at his eyes. The boy bit back a grunt, flipping his body to the side and kicking the fan to the side, making Temari growl, "I've been mastering it since I was younger than you!" she shouted, sending a powerful gust of wind to slice the air.

Naruto threw his body back, head first, cartwheeling away from the Sand Jounin and watching a nearby tree sporting deep, clean cuts on its trunk. Despite seeing it fall into chunks of wood, the always stubborn Uzumaki smirked, "Are you saying that because you're mad I learned it faster than you, or because you know I will kick your ass with what little I know?"

Taunting, one of Naruto's best strategies. He was a prankster at heart and knew how to get on someone's nerves or, at the very least, press button after button to get them mad. He needn't any other comment, for Temari's glare said the nicely endowed desert flower was boiling with rage… Dammit, her flirting got to him. Even if it was a little, he still had to get his head in the game, and he did so by charging again.

Quickly closing her fan, Temari managed to parry three kicks from Naruto, at the cost of being thrown in the air. With a snarl, she flipped her large weapon open to descend on a tree branch and get some distance from the blond. She was about to taunt him about how he was at a disadvantage now that she was high above him. He replied by jumping.

"Do you ever think twice in what you do?!" she snapped at him, partially because to just see him leap at her was quite the scare when the speed at which he moved from the ground to the air was the same as a blink. Swiftly and gracefully, she twirled her fan in her hands like it was a bo staff, letting it take the impacts while the vibrations of the boy's left leg vibrated the steel, numbing her hands slightly.

Once his right foot landed on the branch, he kept kicking, making the echoes of his boots smashing her fan ring louder, "I'm only thinking about how to beat you!" this time he lowered his left leg on the branch and threw his right leg from its position behind him right at the green eyed girl. Temari actually yelped when, after managing to avoid the strike, she saw the thick tree snap in half from the strike.

Unlike the trees he practiced on when he first discovered his new limitations, this one was far thicker and larger.

She finally jumped back and opened her fan fully yet again, this time biting on her thumb, "I can't believe I have to go this far… Too bad he's the enemy."

With a well-practiced wing, the sight before her became nothing but cut down trees, stumps, and large gashes on both trunks and the floor from the wind blades she unleashed. Naruto could only watch the wind approaching him, ready to slice and dice him like he were ham. At that point, his instincts would have told him to run, dig a hole to hide in, find cover, or try his luck. He had something to try, and it wasn't luck.

Temari watched the blond flexing his legs, putting his entire weight on his right leg with his left leg stretched to the side before switching positions, like he were warming up. And then she saw it, his right leg was oozing wind chakra. The amount was enough to cause the air to ripple and trembled around his limb, creating a small tornado around his ankle and foot.

"Dynamic…" the blond started, not even blinking as the cutting air was inches from his face, "BURST!"

It was a roundhouse kick, a textbook strike that could be mastered into a deadly weapon with enough dedication.

What Temari saw was how that single strike not only hit her attack at full force, but completely dispelled it! Her jaw fell, before she had to pull up her fan to cover herself. Not only had Naruto destroyed her jutsu, he had forced the wind back with his own! This time the kunoichi let out a scream when the wind lifted her up in the air, sending her flying back until she hit her back on a tree.

She gasped breathlessly, her eyes wide at the fact she had been defeated like that. Did he always have that kind of power, had he been saving it for later, or was it just a taste of what he had in store?

Whatever the case… "I… I'm beat…" she breathed out as she slid down the tree, her knees hitting the ground.

But before her face landed on the hard ground, she found herself in the boy's arms… She finally noticed she appeared to be taller than him, and that while younger looking he had very pretty, genuinely caring eyes. She also made sure to remember how strong and warm his arms felt gently holding her up like a princess, and the pleasant-to-touch feel of his muscles achieved through intense training with Gai.

"Damn it, Gai-sensei told me I shouldn't overdo it… Hey, you ok?" he asked, actually looking concerned, "I need you to tell me where your crazy brother and that creep with makeup are going! Please, I can't let them hurt Shikamaru or Sakura."

She gasped, but soon her eyelids seemed to turn into lead from the exhaustion, and when she shut her eyes Naruto knew Temari would be out for some time.

He did worry, though. He couldn't leave a girl alone in the middle of a war. What if some members of his village tried to take her in for interrogation or…

With a groan and a shake of his head, he put the girl on his back along her fan, holding the weapon at his sides, parallel to the ground with his hands gripping each end. Temari sat on it while her chin rested on his neck and her torso on his back… He gulped and tried to ignore the feeling of softness on his back while trying to make out where he was.

"Dammit, I should have asked for them to leave some marks…" he cursed his limited ability to plan ahead.

"Hey, kiddo." Naruto looked down to see… a small dog, "Kakashi sent me. I guess I shall be your guide."

XXXXXX

Shikamaru and Shino had done more than a decent job at keeping Kankuro down. A quick mixture of bugs and using their shadows to get closer to the puppeteer shinobi made it an easy win, especially considering he was fighting ninjas specialized in capturing target and getting information. They did the latter by means Anko herself would love to replicate for far darker uses, and with far more sinister methods.

Hearing Naruto arrive was a relief, but also a surprise seeing who he carried, "T-Temari?! How?!" Kankuro got out, nearly spitting.

Naruto gently laid down the kunoichi before facing his fellow Leaf shinobi, "Take care of her and her brother, I'll go… where's Sakura?" he just noted she was missing.

"She's gone after Sasuke while I dealt with this creep. I'm lucky Shino was right behind me." The ponytailed Nara informed his ally, "It's a little further. Are you sure you're ready to fight that pint-sized creep?"

Shino added his two cents, "It is your call now. We may be able to help, but we also have to take care of these two."

Naruto smiled, "You two got this far after things got out of hand, let me reach a little farther. If I fail I'll just have to find a way to get back up and keep fighting."

Letting out a tired sigh, Shikamaru addressed the stoic brunet, "You'll have to watch over them, though, I'm at my limit."

"Of course." Shino nodded, "In any case, we shall take care of our prisoners while you go on ahead. I wish you the best of luck."

Naruto returned the nod, "Just don't let anything bad happen to you or them."

Kankuro finally spoke up, "You don't even have a chance." He glared at the blond, "You've seen what Gaara did to that Lee guy. What do you think will happen to you when Gaara goes all out? He'll tear your legs off and force you to dry how his sand sucks off the blood."

Naruto put his hands in his pockets, receiving the glare with one of his own, "Did you forget what I said? I'm not going to lose. Gai-sensei didn't teach me just to fight Neji, he did what he claims all teachers should do. He taught me so I could surpass my limits. Right here, right now, Gaara is a limit I will surpass!"

Kankuro snapped, "Are you even listening to himself?! Gaara's not only a limit, he's a barrier, you can't just say you will be stronger than someone like him just because you trained hard!"

Naruto had a massive shit-eating grin, "I told you, didn't I?" he asked while lifting his pants a little, Kankuro's eyes widening at the insane amount of scars Naruto's legs sported. From kicking boulders to running up waterfalls, and the seemingly endless days of training, he hadn't come out unharmed, "I just didn't train… I surpassed my limits."

And true to his words, Kankuro could see a ridiculous amount of muscle on the kid's legs from fighting Gai. They were still lean, flexible, like his arms. However, he'd be a fool to say there wasn't more to it than that.

"Who… What are you…?" Kankuro got out.

Naruto pumped a fist up, "I'm a guy that'll leave his mark in history, that's who I am!"

"As dramatic as you want to be…" the small dog started, drawing everyone's attention to it, "I can smell blood…"

In an instant, Naruto grabbed the dog and started to run off at insane speeds, leaving an afterimage where he once stood. His current companion, Pakkun, started to scream bloody murder while trying to hold on to his yellow haired mode of transportation. The other males could only watch the way the blond disappeared to blankly, feeling like they shouldn't be surprised.

Temari for her part wiggled a bit in her sleep, mumbling softly to herself without anyone listening, "Mmm… hold me… more…" There was a pleasant smile on her face.

The blond for his part arrived to a rather unpleasant sight. Gaara had turned into some monstrosity with large, thick arms made of sand, Sakura was constricted by some of it against a tree, and Sasuke was beyond exhausted. Not only that, the mark left on him by Orochimaru was showing, making Naruto worry.

"D-Damn it… I can't lose… I can't let him… hurt…" the dark haired boy panted in pain, putting a hand on his marked shoulder as he tried to move forward.

He felt Naruto's hand on his shoulder, and turned to see the blond with a confident smile, "You got this far… let me take it from here."

"Wait, he's too strong for you to do it alone!" Sasuke got out.

The blond turned to him with that smile still there, and a more serious look on his face, "Then you take over if I fall! Right now you can't save Sakura like that, so let me give it my all until I pass out!"

 **NARUTO UZUMAKI VS. GAARA OF THE SAND**

 **NO BETS! PERSIST OR PERISH!**

 **ROUND 1!**

 **BEGIN!**

Gaara's already distorted grin widened, bloodlust and madness mixing in his deformed face's eyes, "You… You're the one… whose blood mother wants most!"

Naruto got into his stance, "Try and take it, Momma's Boy!"

The fight started with Gaara throwing the first attack, trying to put Naruto in a cocoon of sand. But Naruto wasn't even there, he was hovering above Gaara with a leg up and the rest of his body curled into a ball for balance. The sand controlling Jinchuuriki gasped and brought his arms up, hoping to stop the kick. What he saw left him horrified when Naruto's wind infused leg cut right through!

"Gah!" The petit redhead got out when the whiskered kick specialist's heel met his shoulder, drawing some blood. Gaara was at least smart enough to get some distance after that, "First that Uchiha… now you! I will drain every drop of your blood and bathe my sand with it!" he wasn't sensible enough to not let his anger control him.

"Dynamic…" Naruto didn't respond with words, he responded with actions.

Naruto had once again appeared right in front of Gaara, not even leaving a second to go to waste for the redhead to catch his breath. He was up and personal with both knees bent into his chest, his feet aimed at Gaara. The ring-eyed Jinchuuriki, knowing Naruto could use wind to get through his defenses, tried to capture the nine-tailed fox's whiskered container by the legs and break them.

"Scream for me!" Gaara hollered, his grin growing even wider and more demented.

Naruto obliged, "STRIKE!"

When Gaara's sand managed to wrap itself around his fellow tailed beast carrier's legs, he could only widen his eyes even more when his sand was blasted back. It wasn't just going through his sand, Naruto's legs were so strong they blew every single grain back, like a shotgun blast! And this time, Gaara was hit yet again not by wind, but by pure and simple brute force!

The raw power behind the other boy's feet cracked the sand armor the psychotic redhead took pride on. Gaara felt his stomach rise to his throat, his mouth wide open to let out a mouthful of spit and whatever air he had in his lungs. His back crashed into a tree, which was tilted down because of the force, the sheer impact forcing its roots out. Naruto simply landed on another branch and took his stance yet again.

Sasuke was more than stunned, "This is insane… how far did he push himself to get that strong?" just seeing it made him feel weak on the knees.

Gaara growled as he got up, using his two enormous sand arms to get back on his feet. When he did, he let out a roar of pure fury, "W-What makes this so different from when I faced that guy?! Answer me, Naruto Uzumaki! How are you hurting me?!"

Naruto glared at the desert boy, lifting his right knee, "I kicked you."

Gaara snapped, "Stop mocking me!" he screamed, summoning several sand spikes to skewer the blond with.

"And…" the blond continued, his eyes growing serious, "I know too well what it means to lose, I have always felt like a loser. I never had anyone in my whole life as I grew up, but do you see me complaining?! It's not a matter of what you had before you lose it! It's a matter of how you use what you have, no matter what it is, and push yourself forward!"

Sasuke could only observe in awe as Naruto's right leg shot forward in a blur of movement, getting as many of the sandy projectiles and breaking them. His left leg followed soon after as he shifted his stance to get others, swiftly kicking without lowering his foot on the ground. It didn't matter at what angle or how many came at him, Naruto's legs were fast enough to get every single spike.

Growing tired, Gaara summoned all the sand around him and lifted his hand, a cocoon the side of a house covering the tree Naruto was in, and swiftly closing in, "Die a thousand deaths!" Gaara shouted, his eyes vibrating out of sheer insanity while he heard the sound of branches breaking under the pressure.

The Uchiha expected to hear his teammate's screams of agony, and he did hear him scream, "Dynamic… BURST!"

Gaara's jaw nearly hit the floor when a large portion of his sand was blasted back, and from the hole a certain blond jumped out, looking winded but still alive. Naruto fell down to one knee on the branch he landed, breathing deeply but keeping a cheeky grin. This time, Gaara didn't try to form coherent sentences with whatever control he had, he just let out a scream of blood curdling hatred.

"Argh… _GRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHH_!"

The blond winced when sand started to swarm all around Gaara, flying towards the redhead, ' _Damn it, I can't keep going on like this. Neji, Temari, and now this freak… I've gone full force like this from the start._ ' The whiskered kicker ground his teeth as the sand became an immense dune, and balled his hands into fists, ' _No… I can still keep going, this is another limit I have to surpass. I still have th-_ '

Naruto's mind went blank when before him emerged a gigantic sand raccoon with pure malice in its eyes. The fox's carrier cursed in his head while the creature just seemed to grow more and more. And on its forehead, fused into the sand like a red haired pimple, was Gaara. Whatever control Naruto thought he had was most likely gone, so he expected the worst.

And the worst came when the raccoon roared in laughter after, you guessed it, being set free of the unstable seal holding it back, "Gyahahahaha! I'm back, baby!" it cheered before narrowing its eyes at the blond, "And you… I'm not just going to crush you, I'm going to make you scream in pain until your heart pops out of your mouth! Kyahahahaha!"

Naruto growled, "So you're like that nine-tailed bastard living inside me for free." He got into his stance, narrowing his eyes at the large monster, "Fine then, this'll teach me how strong I am compared to one of you!"

Sasuke shouted at him, "Naruto, don't! We can't possibly win against such a monster! We have to retreat!"

"Then Sakura will die!" Naruto retorted before glaring at the raccoon, "I don't want to lose to this oversized plushy! Even less if it means I have to watch someone die again! I won't let what happened to Zabuza and Haku repeat here!"

"Stop babbling!" the raccoon shouted, raising its gigantic paw to crush the blond underneath it. And then, it saw Naruto jump at it, "Kyahaha! Idiot, you can't best me midair with strength alone!"

"Wanna bet?!" Naruto yelled back, readying his right leg, "Dynamic Burst!"

The two limbs made contact, with Naruto's wind chakra preventing him from sinking into the sand. The towering Tanuki had to bite back a gasp when his arm hit a force equal to the one he used, cancelling both strikes. He wasn't mad, he was furious! A single human had matched his strength?! As if being the laughing stock of the fox wasn't enough!

"I told you, it won't work!" the raccoon shouted, throwing his other hand at the blond.

Naruto tried to ready his other leg, but had some trouble, he needed to catch his breath, "D-Damn it… I can't-"

Sasuke's arm fell limply to his sides at what he saw. Shikamaru and Shino gaped at the sight after recently arriving with a captured Temari and Kankuro, said now conscious blonde girl and her brother equally shocked at what they saw. Naruto for his part could only curse mentally as his body was slammed so hard on the ground he left a hole in its shape, while a bigger hole in the shape of the raccoon's palm surrounded it.

"Shit! How do we even beat this thing?!" Sasuke asked, grabbing his left arm, "If only I had enough strength for another… but that damn sand…"

"Naruto!" Shikamaru cried, trying to reach the blond only to be stopped by Shino.

"Wait, it'd be suicide to get in that monster's sight!" the stoic Aburame said, but the way he trembled said he was doing his best to keep himself in line.

Kankuro and Temari could only silently see their little brother fully unleashed as the monster their village saw him as.

However, someone had some words, "Not… yet…" Naruto groaned, forcing himself to his feet with a bleeding forehead and his mouth wide open to get some air to his lungs, "I've still… got one last trick to show you…" he said as he took his headband off his right biceps.

Shukaku stared at him with a smile and a condescending laugh, "Bwahahaha… you're a riot, kid! But sure, go ahead! I want to have fun!"

Naruto jumped to the nearest tree, and once on a branch he threw his headband up, "Sorry, everyone… I wanted to keep this hidden until I fought at the final round…" he undid his vest and let it fall, showing that underneath it he had an orange muscle shirt. He threw his arms back, letting the vest slide down.

A sense of déjà vu hit the tailed beast when the vest fell down and hit the floor… causing it to shatter and shoot large spikes of dirt up! Naruto's vest was covered in weights like Rock Lee used!

"W-What?!" the Tanuki asked in disbelief, "How?!"

Naruto caught his headband, putting it on his waist like a belt, the metal plate acting as a buckle, "I asked Gai-sensei to go all out when training me me…" he rolled his shoulders to get the stiffness out, "Sadly, using that vest tires me out pretty quickly since I haven't trained as long as Lee. But now you won't be able to catch me…" he smirked, "This time I can really go all out!"

 **NARUTO UZUMAKI VS. SHUKAKU THE ONE-TAILED RACCOON**

 **STAND UP OR FALL DEAD!**

 **ROUND 1!**

 **BEGIN!**

"Dynamic…" Naruto started, getting into a crouched position while he accumulated wind chakra to his legs, "FEATHER!"

He jumped, but it wasn't like he did so, it was more like he just flew straight into the sky! In a split second the boy was five stories above the raccoon's head with a single leap.

However, "Moron, you're an easy target midair! Haven't you realized that already?!" the raccoon roared, swatting one hand at the blond.

And Naruto knew what he meant, "Dynamic Feather…" he had his head aimed straight at the raccoon, and bent both knees to his chest, "DANCE!"

To kick logic out of the way, Naruto had trained hard, harder than he ever had not only to become stronger and surpass his limits, but to make the Dynamic Arts his. That is why when he extended his legs, with his feet coated in wind chakra, he jumped in the air!

Shukaku was baffled when the boy zipped past his strike and right at his head where Gaara was, leaving behind a gust of air in the shape of a feather where his foot had been, "What the Hell?!" the Tanuki roared and tried to grab Naruto, only for the blond to immediately change directions with another kick to the air, and return to his target with a third kick.

"Dynamic…" Naruto readied his right foot, the wind surrounding it becoming a miniature tornado around his chin.

"Like I'd let you win so easily!" Shukaku roared, sand shooting from his body in solid spikes to turn the kid into a human Swiss cheese.

"BURST!" this time not only did the spikes get blown into dispersing dust, but every shinobi present and the giant sand monster gaped when said raccoon stepped back with a chunk of its shoulder missing!

"How?!" Shukaku grunted, trying to reform his shoulder with all the sand it could summon to close the hole.

Naruto was in front of it, lightly bouncing in the air with the balls of his feet, like he were doing a warm-up. But one could see that his feet oozed wind chakra, which he used to kick the air beneath his feet. Beneath his soles 'feathers' made of wind fluttered before disappearing. And the boy's face wasn't even an angry or cocky one, he was dead serious.

"Your sand, Neji's Byakugan, they're all barriers, limits…" Naruto said to the enormous monster, "I trained not to break those limits and leave it at that, I wanted to surpass you! That is why Gai-sensei trained me in the Dynamic Arts, so not only could I go beyond the limit they had, but to make them my own! Don't you dare mock those that work hard, we are too stubborn to give up!"

"Let's see you handle this!" Shukaku hollered, inflating its gut.

Shukaku let loose a massive air bubble with the speed of a cannonball and far more destructive power. Using his jumping ability, Naruto zipped out of its way, though not without seeing trees fly off by the force. He landed on top of a tree to quickly catch his breath, mentally cursing at the fact he had just taken off his vest, not miraculously recovered his energy.

"D-Damn it… I can't get hit by it, but…" the blond looked at his teammates, all tired from their respective fights or lacking the means to fight the monster, not to mention Sakura had already gone limp.

"So that's how it is…" Temari said, "I noticed he wasn't going all out with me. He is right, wearing that vest tired him out, but he also didn't hold back from the start."

Shikamaru clenched his jaw, "That idiot… he just pushed himself too much. He won't be able to keep going."

"No, you're wrong." Shino said.

Kankuro stared at him like the Aburame had grown a second head, "Are you blind? He's at his limit, he may as well have been bluffing from the start."

Shino shook his head, "I believe in what Naruto said, about training to surpass his limits. If I know him well, he'll give everything he has in this next strike, and if that doesn't work, he'll give even more in the next."

"You're making this too easy!" Shukaku cackled, "Now scream for me!"

The raccoon swept his arm, trying to get the blond yet again. "Screw it!" Naruto exclaimed, jumping high into the air yet again, "It doesn't matter what happens to me so long as I take you down!"

In a show of either bravery or stupidity, Naruto jumped at the arm and ran over it, surprising the raccoon. Shukaku growled, "Get off, you damn insect!" he summoned sand spikes to try to skewer the blond or at least stop him. If he did, he could properly sink and crush the boy in his sand body. However, Naruto's legs were still infused with wind chakra, making it hard for the sand to get a hold of him.

When he found his first obstacle, Naruto's thought was to charge through, by jumping right at it with a flying kick. Towering and powerful as he could be, Shukaku knew that if the fox's carrier reached Gaara and woke him up, it'd be over for him. He raised his other arm and tried to smash the boy like he were actually a bug. And despite the sand slowing him down, Naruto didn't stop.

"Dynamic Feather!" Naruto soared into the air, spinning his body to have his feet aimed at the leg about to crush him, "MORNING BIRD!"

Everyone, even the towering demon, felt like a tiny bit inside of them died at such a name. Then again, the boy had been trained by Gai, and it showed when his feet, cutting the air like talons, landed on the raccoon's palm and sent it flying back. Shukaku gasped before Naruto jumped midair, flying right at him and Gaara.

And then, the raccoon smirked, "You're too easy to read!" he cackled, inflating his stomach, "All you do is charge forward!"

"It's all I need!" Naruto said, jumping straight at the redhead on the raccoon's head.

"Try and escape this!" Shukaku roared as he leaned his head back, before spitting another large air bubble.

Without stopping his charge, Naruto positioned his body and brought up his right leg, stretching his left leg backwards in an airborne split. "I won't need to!" he turned his legs to spin his body, making his legs spin too. Wind chakra gathered around his feet, creating a whirlwind around him, a circle of air getting cut from the speed, the motion, and his chakra. And the more he spun, the faster he became.

"This is it!" Shino exclaimed, "This is what Naruto must have wanted to put everything into!"

How right he was. "Dynamic… RUSH!"

The genin present gaped at what they saw, Naruto had turned his body into a buzz saw, cutting the air as he sailed right at Gaara in a spinning motion. Soon the kid's feet made contact with the condensed air cannonball, but didn't stop spinning!

"What?!" Shukaku gasped as not only did Naruto not fly back, but he broke straight through his attack!

Shikamaru trembled for a bit, "By constantly spinning like that, he gives consecutive strikes to anything in his path… Only he could come up with something that ridiculous and dangerous."

Shukaku was having none of it, "You won't make a fool of me!" he shouted, trying to once again swat aside the blond, only that this time his hand came off! "I-Impossible!" the tailed beast roared, watching in fear as the blond kept going right at Gaara.

"Wake!" Naruto was right in front of the redhead, still spinning, "Up!"

Temari and Kankuro winced when the blond Jinchuuriki's heel smacked on their brother's head. Though Naruto was kind enough to cut the chakra supply to his leg for that last strike.

Shukaku could only scream while he returned to his seal, fear and anger all over his face.

Gaara woke up slowly, to see Naruto beaming at him, victory all over the blue eyed genin's face.

 **XXXXXX**

And that's my rap!

I hope you enjoyed the ridiculousness of this chapter. I may stop this story here and leave it like that since, like I said, I don't want to run this idea dry and it wasn't easy to get this going. At least I find myself satisfied with this, I think I did pretty well for the most part. If you don't like it, be kind enough to leave a suggestion on how to improve it.

Also, yes, I took inspiration from One Piece for some of the Dynamic Arts.

Now comes something to spice things up, for me at least. This will have some crossover themed omakes at the end using the concept of Naruto having to use only kicks to fight. Yes, I'm afraid to say I'm more comfortable working with odd crossovers.

I had fun writing these, so if you do too that'll be a nice bonus.

 **XXXXXX**

(Teen Titans)

"How did I get here?!"

Naruto was baffled, one moment he had been fighting Sasuke and doing a good job at planting his feet on the Uchiha's face, and the next he was in a big and odd city. What kind of city had such tall buildings with only windows and concrete walls? None of them had nicely decorated roofs or even a lick of life to them. Then again, people wore even weirder clothing he never thought he'd see.

"Oh, what do we have here? Aren't you cute?" said a girl with pale gray skin, a slim and thin but quite cute body adorned with pink hair. Her pink cat-like eyes did draw his attention, almost as much as the fact she had styled her bubblegum colored hair into a pair of large horns, and she had an outfit best fit for a witch of some Goth comic.

Beside her were a bald boy that barely reached the blond teen's knee, clad in a green jumpsuit with goggles on his forehead and a steel backpack. Behind the two was a large teen with a wild mane of brown hair, a sleeveless black outfit, a goatee, and a towering body made entirely of muscle.

Naruto blushed, though. A girl called him cute? Him? Either it was his lucky day or…

The larger teen grinned, "Too bad you're in the way." He said, grabbing a lamp post, ripping it effortlessly off the street to try to smash Naruto in the face. Our whisker-faced hero merely replied by casually throwing his leg to the side, splitting the thick metal in half. The enormous teen before him stared at the clean cut on his half, while the other rolled behind Naruto.

With his guard now up, the blond smirked at the three before him, "Well, I just needed to stretch my legs."

(Avatar: the Last Airbender)

"ORA! Ora, ora, ora, ora!"

The shout of a single boy in the middle of a village alerted three young ladies around his age. Their leader had her hair done in a bone with a flame-shaped piece, sharp golden eyes, and quite a blooming body in a set of armor with a Chinese design to it. By her side was a brunette with her hair in a braid wearing a pink outfit walking on her hands, and a stoic girl with her hair done in buns with knives in her hands.

They saw a platoon of men in red armor with a fire motif flying back while a yellow haired youth kicked them down, panting a bit, "Dammit, it had to be fire…" he resisted the urge to groan and got into a stance, bouncing on the balls of his feet, "Guess it'll have to be the old way."

"Well, well, well, aren't you confident?" the more regal of the girls said, walking confidently to him while flanked by the other two.

Naruto deadpanned, "Ok, what's your gimmick?"

The girl raised a delicate eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

"Three stunning girls are talking to me after I beat these bad guys, that's already too good to be true, and you're dressed like them." He said simply, "Though I'm hoping you're not with them considering they wanted to burn this village to find some avatar… whatever that is."

The girl smiled, "I am Azula. These are Ty Lee and Mai, and you are in luck. I do like a compliment, so I'll simply put you in a cell… after having some fun." Her hands were engulfed in blue flames while the brunette got into a stance that gave our whiskered hero flashbacks to his fight with Neji, and the stern looking girl simply readied her knives with a cold glare.

Naruto shuddered, ' _Ugh, I'm getting a real bad Anko-vibe from this chick._ '

(Street Fighter)

Walking the busy streets of a big city without panicking was hard given Naruto's situation.

"Come on, think, how do I get back home?" he asked himself out loud while walking down a bridge.

At that moment he heard the sound of fighting and looked around to find a girl surrounded by thugs. Before he could help her she had already started to beat them to a pulp. She had a mop of short brown hair, a sailor school uniform, and a white headband. What was stunning, besides her curvaceous legs and cute tomboyish appearance, was that she didn't break a sweat to take down ten guys.

"Well, that was a good work out." She said, taking a deep breath before noticing Naruto. The boy stepped back in surprise when she smirked, "What is it? Up for round 2?"

"Listen, I just want to get home… Umm…"

"Name's Sakura, Sakura Kasugano."

"Wait! Sakura, really?" he took the information in slowly, "Huh, small world…"

"That being said…" she tapped her fists together, which were covered by red fighting gloves, "You look strong. Want to fight?"

Naruto looked at her, feeling an urge to grin back, "Sure, I guess I can kill some time." he got into his stance, "Don't expect me to lose, Sakura-chan."

"Already this friendly? Heh, I like you… Ok, go for it. Wouldn't ask for it to be any other way."

(RWBY)

"The Hell?"

Naruto was confused when a man with a fine suit and bowler hat asked that. Said man had a cane, and his orange hair done in a way that covered his left eye. Beside him was a dark-skinned, green haired girl with a couple of sickles in her hand, and a gray haired lad who took a stance like the whiskered boy's. Naruto just knew things had to be bad given several people with white masks were there too.

The girl continued, "That isn't going to cut it." she told a man in a black suit with red hair, a mask like the others, and a katana sheathed in his left hand.

The masked redhead spoke up, "That's all you're getting until we get our part. We had a deal and-"

And Naruto had to be stupid enough to kick a nearby can down the balcony he was hiding on, getting all eyes on him. He gave everyone a nervous smile, and in turn everyone aimed their weapons at the blue eyed Jinchuuriki. Guess it was time to use the good old fashioned charm.

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to see-" and he had to end his sentence there when the gray haired boy tried to kick him. Naruto surprised him by stopping the strike with his shin.

"Not bad, Mercury, you're equal to a little kid." The girl said with a smirk, twirling her weapons in her hands.

Naruto readied his legs, "This is going to be a long day, isn't it?"

 **XXXXXX**

Swordslinger out!


	3. Chapter 3

I OWN NOTHING

Without any pretense or sense of irony, I'll just say that after this I may just do crossover themed omakes and call it a metaphorical day with this story, if I've used the saying correctly.

 **Author's note** : This may be perhaps one of the weirdest chapters I've written. And like in the previous ones, I do skip some scenes from canon to avoid repeating them. I mean, what's the point of writing what many of you have probably seen or can see?

And now, the recommended music for this chapter's fight scene:

Ryu ga Gotoku Zero OST – Trouble Shooting Star

 **XXXXXX**

With our blond protagonist making his move as he tried to cope with what happened, some other people pondered their next one. One of them was Orochimaru, the snake that backstabbed his own village, growled to himself at the loss of his arms. Not only that, a mistake of his came back with a mean bite. The white skinned man glared at his subordinates' eyes, all of which stared at a weakened body.

"To think a single brat could cause so much trouble…" he growled, "Gaara was captured too easily because of him, and any chance for us to capture Sasuke after that raccoon's Jinchuuriki beat him disappeared. Truly, I can't give that Uzumaki boy enough credit. Too bad I realized that mistake far too late."

Kabuto kneeled before his master, "If you desire for his head, we shall send our best to retrieve it."

Orochimaru scoffed, "Don't be a fool. If Akatsuki finds out I targeted him and killed him, I'd be on their list. I can't risk that, not without the power of the Sharingan in my hands. Only when that happens will I be able to face them, and my plans can go on smoothly without anyone to become a hindrance."

The silver haired medic grit his teeth, "Even so, Akatsuki's following dangerous fairy tales. Sooner or later they will try to get that Uzumaki brat. With that much power, even the Sharingan couldn't hold up."

Giving an oily grin, Orochimaru retorted, "Do not forget, Kabuto, the legend of the Rabbit Goddess claims she had the power of the two ultimate bloodlines the Leaf currently possesses. Sure, the Byakugan is already powerful on its own, but it worked as a shield for her. The real threat was her use of the Sharingan… That bloodline exceeds any kind of limit. It is a true gift of the gods and a curse of devils at the same time."

Unable to fool himself, Kabuto could only see his master was going down in a spiral of delusions, and yet he knew the man was right. Orochimaru desired the Sharingan for a good reason, even a single eye could immensely tip the scales in one's favor. To have the body and power of an Uchiha would mean to be like a god in the world they lived in.

And that is why both of them wanted to ask themselves one thing, why? Why did a single boy with no bloodlines made them feel uneasy? How did he manage to make them doubt their plans. They had seen him rise up and become stronger than he would have even with his arms. So the question remained of what could have possibly made Naruto change so radically.

Change was something Naruto had trouble accepting at times. Reality hits hard, and it always hits you when you least expect it. It does so when you're down or up, whether you need it or not. To think that Sarutobi, the old man who did his best to lead an entire village, had died was difficult to accept for Naruto. Many paid their respects, others accepted it better, and quite some select groups had different points of view.

But to someone who had nothing growing up, to someone whose family and life had been stolen the moment he was born, just having the closest to a family taken was a harder hit than usual. He had trained, after being crippled he did everything to be stronger than ever. He had succeeded in that, and managed to soar higher above anyone's expectations. Gai had been proud of him, and even Lee smiled more.

"Yah! Sei! Hah!"

Naruto could be heard and seen shouting kicking a tree log at the forest, which was common for taijutsu enthusiasts. His third kick made the wood snap in half. He took a deep breath and tried to clear his mind. He still wore his weighted vest, he could still remember how good it felt to defeat Gaara and tell the redhead Jinchuuriki what he needed to listen to. Yet, Orochimaru had taken any sense of victory once again.

He spun around, bringing his wind charged leg in an arc to split the remains of his training dummy into smaller pieces. "I knew I'd find you here." Said a feminine voice, with Tenten revealing herself, hands on her hips, "Gai-sensei told me how hard you trained, so I figured you'd be here doing just that to clear your mind."

Once he took a deep breath, Naruto replied, "You were looking for me?" he did want to ask what she wanted, but at the moment he was more than willing to talk to someone who had trained with his new sensei.

Having someone that seemed willing to listen to him was nice, Tenten knew, "How could I not? Lee has been dying to see you and get details on how you beat Neji, and you should really check on how people see you now. It is outstanding after all you did and said while you fought Neji and after you beat him."

He gave a small laugh, but she could tell it took him some effort, "Thanks… I mean it."

After closing her eyes to plan her next move, Tenten approached the younger genin, "Listen, take it from me. You are strong, stronger than you ever let anyone believe. And that has worried Gai-sensei when it comes to your strength." Her eyes softened, "You keep so much inside of you I was amazed when you snapped at the tournament."

He rubbed the back of his head, "Really? Normally people would tell me I just talk too much."

Softly smiling, she continued, "You should try to let it out more. You did look manlier." She prevented a giggle by putting her hand to her mouth when he blushed, "Trust me on this, you've grown, and you can keep doing so. You just didn't fight at the tournament, you actually grew up. And that is why you shouldn't stop. I bet the Third Hokage would agree on that."

He looked down, clenching his hand into a fist, "I did get stronger, but it didn't help the old man…" Tenten frowned, feeling like he was getting depressed again. How wrong she was, "That is why I am still training now. If everything I did that day wasn't enough, I have to keep training harder and harder to make sure I can do something next time."

"Gai-sensei did rub off on you." said a new voice.

Naruto turned and Tenten smiled, for it was none other than Neji… in a certain green leotard, "What the Hell?!" the blond fox carrier shouted before pointing a finger at the brunet, tears in his eyes, "N-Neji?! You- Pfft!" he clamped a hand to his mouth and put the other on his stomach, wild laughter coming out of his lungs as he doubled over.

Tenten beamed, "See? I told you seeing you would make him happy."

Closing his eyes and tensing his whole body, the stoic Hyuuga tried to reign over his anger upon giving his answer, "You are the sun of the Earth, Tenten." He said dryly.

She let out a small laugh, "Come on, you know he deserves it, and you have something to take care of."

It was true, the blue eyed Uzumaki needed to cheer himself up, but the cost was making the older male question if he would have been better off committing seppuku to keep his honor. Nevertheless, he was a Hyuuga, and that clan was one that had to keep its word at its full potential regardless of being a shinobi clan. So he turned to Naruto, currently with his back on the ground while laughing like a hyena on crack.

"I came here for two simple reasons, Uzumaki." The green clad Hyuuga told the blond, causing the younger shinobi to stop laughing and sit straight, "I have kept my word to you so far, dressing in this attire. Now, it is part to fulfill the second part."

He put himself down on both knees and bowed his head deeply, "From the heart, Neji!" Tenten cheered, having waited too long to tease her teammate like this.

Despite the humiliation, he spoke as dignified as he could, "I apologize from the bottom of my heart for laughing at yours and Lady Hinata's dreams… I have… much to learn. So… I also want to thank you."

"Wait, what?" that was a surprise.

"It's true."

"Why?"

Neji looked up at Naruto in the eye, "If I weren't for how you defeated me, my uncle wouldn't have something to help show me the error of my ways. That is why, I will thank you here and now."

Naruto stood up, beaming, "That's good and all, but…" he aimed a finger at the Hyuuga, "The bet was that you also have to apologize to Hinata. Don't go thanking me about something I had nothing to do about. All I did was fight you. If Hinata hadn't tried so hard to beat you, I wouldn't have pushed myself so hard to do it for her. So if you have to thank someone, thank her for trying her best."

The two brown haired genins watched their younger fellow ninja turn around, and wave at them, "Wait, where are you going?" Neji asked.

Naruto smiled widely, "I'm going to look for a way to get stronger. I don't know how, but I will find something to fight better."

And with that, he left, leaving Tenten a bit flushed, "He did get manlier…" she then turned to her teammate, "So, how's it feel to be part of the green team?"

Neji put his hands on his hips, a calm look on his face, "Surprisingly comfortable and liberating, which is on itself rather disturbing."

Tenten put on a far too cheerful smile, "Just remember, if Gai-sensei tries to make me wear one because you lost that bet, you will do more than beg for forgiveness."

The stoic Hyuuga sighed in defeat, the man that broke him out of his darkness was also the one that brought him a new level of misery. Well, principal of equivalence or something like that.

As for Naruto, walking through the streets of the Leaf for ideas in how to improve his fighting style was not easy. With Gai things were pretty simple and also rather unclear. To train to surpass yourself every second of every day sounded cool, but Gai and Lee, before the accident, could still use their chakra reserves to boost their taijutsu immensely. He had a more concentrated chakra flow in his body, but not his arms.

"Ah, Naruto-kun!" said kid did a double-take. There was no way he could mistake that voice with how it fawned for a different name, to hear it call to him that way was just plain odd.

He took a minute to take in the platinum blonde hair, "Ino?"

She grinned wider than he had seen her do so before, "Sorry for calling you out like that, but you looked a bit too serious. What is it?"

His eyebrows gave a slight jump at the question, he hadn't expected her to be this friendly, "I've just been thinking on… uh… how do I put it? Well, I want to get stronger, so I want to find or do something that will improve my kicks." He gave her a questioning glance, "You wouldn't happen to come with an idea to help me, right?"

She shook her head, grin still there, "Nope, but I thought I'd talk to the Leaf's new sensation." She clasped her hands behind her back, "Come on, you surprised everyone at the tournament. Not only did you beat Hinata's cousin using only your legs, but Shikamaru told me how you beat a monster with sheer will power and letting loose."

"Oh, that's… wait, I'm the village's new sensation?" being praised by a girl nearly blinded him to what he should have listened to from the start.

She nodded with a proud smile, "You defeated several Sand shinobi on your way to fight and protect Sasuke and Sakura. The people that saw your fight with Neji can't believe how cool you were. It's almost like you were praised by the Rabbit Goddess."

"Rabbit Goddess?" he echoed.

"It's a legend, one a few people know about." She said, "My mother used to tell it to me as a bedtime story. She descended from the moon into a tree. After taking a bite from its fruit she gave people the power of chakra, leaving her sons to lead them. However, anger and jealousy started wars between those who had chakra. She felt so much grief at what her kindness created her sons sealed her away to stop her pain."

Naruto hummed, "That's a pretty sad story, though."

Ino shrugged, "It is a legend, so who knows? Maybe she existed, or maybe she was made to let people know that trying to get power can harm those around you."

Naruto put on his determined grin, "Then I'll become strong to protect those I care about." He recalled to a past experience, smiling fondly at it, ' _Like Haku did with Zabuza…_ '

The Yamanaka girl smiled wider, "You mean you'd protect little me?"

He didn't hesitate, "Sure! I may have never talked to you much, but I heard you cheering me on at the tournament. Thanks for that, by the way."

She found his smile to be infectious, "How could I not cheer for you?! You surely grew up since the last time I saw you." she was honest, ' _I can see why Hinata likes him. To see him go from a knucklehead that used to pester Sakura to this hunk…_ ' and she finally took notice of it. She hadn't seen it very well at first from the stands, but upon closer inspection Naruto did grow in ways she could certainly admire… and stare at.

Even through his vest she could make the faint shape of hard as steel pectorals hiding underneath the heavy piece of clothing. His bare arms were still lean yet they were marked with more than decent muscle. One could bet he could carry more than his weight without chakra with his biceps. In fact, she did wonder how easy it'd be for him to carry her. And with no baby fat, his face did gain some sharp and masculine features.

"Ino, you ok?"

"Uh, wha?"

"You were spacing out."

"O-Oh… Sorry… It's been a tough day." She quickly looked away, ' _Whatever he's doing, he better keep it up._ '

"Alright then, I better get going." The hot-headed Uzumaki said, turning around.

"Where to?" the now bun-haired Yamanaka hated how meek she sounded asking that.

Naruto grinned, though, "To find Gai-sensei and Lee."

An idea sparked in the mind controlling girl's head, "How about you bring Lee flowers? After all, it's almost part of a gentleman's manners to bring flowers to those who need help."

Naruto lifted both eyebrows, his eyes looking at the sky, contemplating Ino's words, "For real? Huh, I guess a florist would know better on that than me."

Stifling a laugh and trying to contain a new pink hue to her cheeks, the platinum haired girl spoke again, "It'll be on me, a prize for the champ after everything he did at the tournament."

The sun haired Uzumaki stared at her curiously, "You're being awfully nice, though. I mean, back at the academy you'd also yell at me if I messed up like Sakura." That caused the girl to pause and think, he was right. She froze then and there, not sure of what to say, which allowed him to continue, his grin returning, "I must have been pretty cool at the tournament if I got you to cheer for me like this, huh?"

She smiled, albeit nervously, "Y-Yeah…" she looked down, thinking on what he said and recalling that, like he had said, she treated him no better than others.

And now, here she was, complimenting him when he had won something and got some rather handsome features. Ino wanted to say something, anything, even a small sorry, but then paused. If she did that now that he mentioned it, it'd make him think she only did it like she needed to, not because she wanted. Even worse, he could think she was just cheering him because she could want something out of it.

At the end of her wits, she was ready to give up, but then heard him speak sincerely and warmly, "I'm glad I did it. It may have taken me too long, but I couldn't be happier now that you cheer me on!"

Ino turned around in a split second, showing her back to him while cupping her bright red cheeks, internally screaming, ' _No! Don't say such charming things! You could make any girl's heart melt with such a cheesy but heartfelt line! Don't dare do this to me, Naruto-k- I mean, Uzumaki! You better take responsibility for making this young Yamanaka still blooming feel this way!_ '

Naruto merely tilted his head to the side, speaking his thoughts, "Ino, you're acting really weird… Will you show me the shop or not?"

Ino stiffened, ' _You dummy! Don't casually brush off what you just said! Now I see why Sakura doesn't like him, but dammit, I can still see why Hinata does like him. How dare you do this to my innocent heart?_ '

He scratched his head in confusion, "I mean, I'd really like to see your flowers. You were very good at school, so you must have pretty good flowers, right?"

The young Yamanaka heiress took a deep breath, turned around, and showed him a beaming smile, "Sure, come right this way, Naruto-kun~!" she said with a sing-song tone, a skip on her step while he followed.

He scratched his head again, ' _Ino's definitely weirder than I remember her being. Not that it's a bad thing, though._ '

Soon, Naruto had made his way to the hospital to meet a certain friend.

"Ah, Naruto-san!"

"Hey, Fuzzy Br- I mean, Lee, get back in bed!"

In all honesty, Naruto wanted his visit at Lee's room to be normal and pleasant like his meetings with Tenten, Neji, and Ino. Now here was the young taijutsu enthusiast, trying to get up his bed to do some one-armed push-ups. It took some convincing, and quite some brute force, but Naruto managed to put Lee back on bed despite the bushy browed genin's protest.

"Come on, Naruto-san, you don't have to worry about me. If you could beat Neji with just your legs, I can try to be a great shinobi with only one arm and one leg." The bowl-cut boy said, almost pleading to the younger whiskered teen.

Resisting the urge to groan, the Uzumaki boy sighed, "Seriously, at least I know I need to heal." He didn't want to be cruel, but he had to be realistic, "Think of it this way, if you had to fight me the way you are, you wouldn't do much. I know it hurts, I know you don't want to listen to that, but-"

Lee cut him off, still pleading, but despair could be seen in his eyes, "No, wait! I know I messed up, but if I train the right w-"

"Sorry, Lee…" said the solemn voice of the Leaf's most youthful Jounin, before he smashed his fist on his student's head, "But you need to keep your manners in check even if you're being visited at a hospital!"

Naruto could only gape while his fellow genin's head bobbed up and down from the momentum, "W-What the Hell, Gai-sensei?! Lee's supposed to recover here, not to get sent to the emergency room!"

"Naruto, it has come to my attention you've been looking for me, which is good, because I've been looking for you." Maito Gai said like he had done nothing wrong.

Aiming a finger at the green clad sensei, Naruto shouted at him, "Don't brush off what I said, Super Fuzzy Brows! You're not Kakashi-sensei!"

"Which is why I was asked to find you." Gai said, arms crossed, expression stern.

The boy froze, the last time he saw that face was when the man had him experience true Hell to master the Dynamic Arts, "What is it, Gai-sensei?"

"Lee has a chance, Naruto, albeit a small one." The man said, "After I and others were asked of who trained you for the Chuunin exams, I was tasked with finding you. All I know is that this can save Lee."

Balling his hands into fists, the blue eyed Uzumaki didn't waste a single second, "Whatever it is, tell me how I can do it."

The man nodded, "Alright, but we better leave. Your task can't be discussed so openly, and this experience may help you improve yourself in ways I couldn't."

"What do you mean? I know my arms can't use chakra anymore, so what're you talking about?" the suspense was killing him.

Giving his Nice Guy grin, the taijutsu master answered, "Unlike Lee or I, you can still use chakra. When I talked about this, I made sure to get you some help. You have much to learn, Naruto, and I am afraid I can't help you reach your full potential even if I did teach you everything I know."

"Even so…" Naruto started, smiling at the man, "You gave me a chance to fight back, and that's more than anything I could have asked for. So now I shall give Lee a chance too."

Gai felt tears gather around his eyelids, making him turn around to wipe them, "Your youth still shines so bright, nay, it shines brighter than before… I couldn't be prouder of you, Naruto. So let's make sure Lee can come back into the life of a shinobi, for he'll definitely want to challenge you. I'd be unable to call myself a ninja of the Leaf if those who took my training so seriously didn't challenge themselves as true rivals!"

Naruto was getting pumped up, "Alright, Gai-sensei, let me show you the power of my youth beyond a hundred percent!"

The nurses and doctors passing by saw a horrific sight that would never leave their feeble human minds. Behind the two expert martial artists shone a bright sunset, like an illusion with a glistening ocean on the background complete with waves crashing around them. The water flowing in the air combined with the sun's rays caused rainbows to surround the two passionate shinobi.

One doctor voiced everyone's thoughts, "Oh god, it's the worst case scenario, they're multiplying!"

XXXXXX

It was at one of the many of the Leaf's parks that one Sakura Haruno pondered on her life, letting out a sigh while she sat down on a bench and stared at the kids playing. Just seeing how much stronger Naruto had become because he put so much effort into something baffled her. It also made her realize how big the gap was between the once dead-last and her, the top-ranked kunoichi.

She had helped him learn how to walk on trees, and then he had come kicking down a monster to save her and Sasuke. That kind of thing, along his performance, had earned him the recognition of many. And he was even more highly admired by some kids.

"Dynamic ENTRY!"

"Dynamic KICK!"

"Dynamic PUNCH!"

"There's no punch, only kicks!"

"Oh, sorry."

Seeing the boys and girls of the village trying to imitate him without their parents frowning was a sign that he had changed.

"Hanabi, don't run off!"

Sakura turned her head to see Hinata walking behind a little brunette with the same eyes as their clan. The little girl soon joined the other kids that tried to imitate Naruto's kicks, though doing a bit better. The bubblegum haired girl was not given time to think on that when Hinata sat beside her. The shy Hyuuga offered her a small smile before talking.

"Hanabi wanted to train on her own and learn how to kick." She said a bit out of the blue, "Naruto-kun hasn't just grown, it's almost like he's a different person."

Sakura nodded, "But he's still the same deep down. Who else would have joined in the crowd calling out for a good match?"

Hinata smiled, "I met him before the tournament started. I expected him to be afraid, to be nervous considering what happened to him. I had seen it with my Byakugan, but I didn't dare to talk about it when he looked so determined to fight." She closed her eyes, a small grin on her face, "I hadn't faced him while we talked, so I was caught by surprise when he said he didn't train to just lose."

Sakura looked up at the sky, "He didn't just train, it's like he transformed himself. I honestly expected him to lose, you know?" she hugged her knees to her chest, "I actually hated thinking that, it felt cruel. He had done so much in his fight with Kiba, I knew he deserved to be strong to fight Neji and win, but… When I looked at him, it was like looking at… someone who was running on fumes and would collapse soon."

"But he won." Hinata replied, "He did it, so you don't have to worry about it."

"The thing is, I saw him as even weaker than me before he fought Kiba." She admitted, "And now, he beat a monster not even Sasuke could hold back. It just makes me wish I could be stronger, but…"

"Then, have faith in what Naruto did." Hinata said with a smile, "Because I believed he'd find a way that he'd do something to become strong enough to defeat Neji."

"How can you not think he could have ended up dead?" Sakura retorted.

Hinata sighed, "I know him for a reason, which is that he doesn't give up." She had a faint smile, "Not once, not ever would he back away. It was that determination that made me believe, deep down, that he could win, even if all I could think was how strong Neji was. And then, he talked to me, unafraid of the fight. I was glad I still wanted to believe in him when he won."

Sakura saw a flaw, "If all I had to do to get stronger is believe, I'd probably be the first female Hokage, though."

Hinata shook her head, "I said he never gave up, Sakura. During his fight, he just didn't stop. What really made him stronger was that he believed he could be, and doing something about it."

The bubblegum haired kunoichi took the words in, and couldn't find a thing to say against it. That was when a pair of blurs, one green and the other orange and black, dashed past the park. Hanabi's face brightened into a large smile when she saw who it was. Sadly, none of the kids or shinobi present could call out to the blurs, let alone follow them.

Gai laughed, "As expected from someone that mastered the Dynamic Arts, you can keep up with me while wearing that weighted vest! Impressive, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto grinned, "Sorry, Gai-sensei, I don't want to keep up, I want to get ahead of you!"

Proud tears threatened to come to the spandex wearing man's eyes, but he fought against letting them cloud his vision, "That's what I expect from such a dedicated student! Alright! Let's get where we need to be so Lee doesn't fall behind! See if you can keep up with me now, Naruto-kun! Use your toes to impulse yourself forward!"

"Yes, Gai-sensei!" the blond Uzumaki responded and both martial artists were dashing so fast they left a large trail of dust behind them.

At the same time, in another section of the Leaf, in the women's hot-springs, we find a certain snake mistress and sadist accompanied by a purple haired ANBU. The two sat on the bottom of the hot water, resting their backs against the smooth stone edges, and contemplated their latest life changes. Anko turned to Yugao, the swordswoman looking too serene after what happened to her.

"I know what you're thinking… I didn't make it into ANBU without knowing things like this could happen." Yugao said calmly before grabbing a bucket and pouring the contents over her purple locks.

The village's number one sadist huffed, "Geesh, I just wanted you to relax. Though, I am just waiting for you to snap about how no one knows how you feel, right about now."

The purple head ANBU closed her eyes, "I don't think many would, but I didn't expect you to say that."

The village's most feared interrogator grinned, "You expect me to not tell things like they are? The Sand are making a peace treaty after their attempts at backstabbing us failed, and here we are, trying to make like nothing happened." She looked at the sky, scowling, "The part that makes me sick is that I just expected everything to go to Hell with that asshole…"

Yugao sighed, "We chose this life. All we can do is move on while trying to avoid meaningless fights."

Anko scoffed, "Screw that, we should get drunk."

"Do you really want that?"

"Hey, I can take my booze, and you need some."

"Why did you really want me here?" the swordswoman asked, dropping all pretenses.

Anko grinned, "You've heard, right? About how that whiskered brat beat and helped capture the Kazekage's kids. Because of that, it was easier to stop the war and make the invaders retreat. We had fun fighting back on our own until they heard how their trump card was beaten by that brat. Hell, I saw him in the tournament, if he were a few years older that cute, tight little butt of his would-"

"Must you always try make things embarrassing for others?" Yugao asked dryly.

Anko smirked, "Hey, if I got you to try to stop me, does that mean you're into clueless, young boys?"

Yugao sighed, "I thought you wanted to cheer me up, not mock me."

Anko shrugged, "Listen, all joking aside, perhaps you should thank him. We now know who murdered Hayate…"

The purple-head's eyes turned sharply to her equally nude fellow kunoichi, "Who was it?" she asked with thick venom in her words.

Anko relaxed her body, closing her eyes with a serious expression, "This is the part you won't like… It was the turban wearing guy, the one that's currently handling all the peace treaty's deals."

Yugao bit her lip, looking on into the distance, "I see…" she grumbled, clenching her hands into fists, "I wanted to hear you say it was a Sound shinobi, but… I guess Hayate won't be able to rest now. Because, if I killed that man, our country and the Sand's would be at war again, because the village just forgave him to stop another war…"

Anko inhaled deeply through her nose before letting the air out through her lips, slowly, while her friend talked. After that, she replied, "The guy said he'd take responsibility for that if we handed him the kids."

Yugao's head snapped to her friend, "You still have them?!" she was about to ask that, she had been about to ask that.

However, someone interrupted her train of thought, "Hey old fart, what do you think you're doing?!" the two kunoichis heard yelling from outside, recognizing the voice for no other shinobi could be that loud with the exception of two green clad beasts.

"H-Hey, shut your mouth, kid! What I do here is my bus-"

"Dynamic… STRIKE!"

The two women instantly stood up, covering themselves in their towels and watched the events unfold before them. The wall to the hot spring had fallen down into pieces, an old man with long spiky hair in a ponytail came crashing through, and he had his arms crossed over his chest to block a kick. Naruto followed in soon after and landed in front of the hall, while the old man skidded to a halt on the other side.

But instead of worrying that a kid had kicked him through a wall, the man turned to the water… with a massive grin, "Oh, first row seats for the paradise!" he looked at the two women, covered in towels, "Dammit, that brat alerted them." He muttered under his breath.

"Hey, you perverted old fart, don't ignore me!" Naruto said, sliding off his vest and letting it fall. It made the ground shake and sink under its weight, making the elder groan.

"Ugh, what do they feed kids these days?" he asked before taking a glance at the boy, "Uh… Minato…?"

The blond grit his teeth, "Don't play games, you pervert! And my name's Naruto Uzumaki, not Minato!" he said that, but he was worried, ' _This guy took my Dynamic Strike and is still standing, this won't be easy._ '

Dread set on the elder's gut, ' _This kid just didn't kick me; he nearly broke my arms. If I hadn't used all my chakra to try to block the strike they'd have snapped. So this is the kind of son only Kushina could carry._ ' He focused on the task at hand when the boy jumped at him, ' _Heh, seems he's even more temperamental than her if he's this predict-_ '

He shut his thoughts when the boy kicked the air, dashing to the side for a powerful axe-kick. The elder was beyond stunned at what he had seen the kid do, and was ready to take the impact. However, someone else took the hit for him, grunting at the force he had to stop. The ponytailed old man recognized the green spandex.

"Wait a minute, Naruto-kun, you can't harm this man!" Gai shouted.

The boy would have none of that, "But he's a creep! I caught him peeping at the girls!"

The red makeup wearing man cackled, "What do you expect of me, the Legendary Super Pervert, a sage whose charms no woman could withstand, the one and only Jiraiya?!" he even posed like some kabuki.

Naruto felt like he was in an alien world, "W-What kind of old fart would proclaim that and try to be dignified about it?"

The kabuki-like man chuckled, "Well, you mustn't know who I am, but it's fine. You're Naruto, right?"

The boy was about to ask what he meant, ' _Who the Hell is this old fart acting like he knows me?_ ' he had that question on the tip of his tongue, but backed away when seeing a truly horrific sight.

Behind Jiraiya were a very pissed off kunoichis. One of them being an ANBU was scary enough, Anko added thirty layers of pain and fear.

They were thankful, though, Naruto had distracted the man enough for them to grab him, letting the horror set in his eyes while they glared at him, Yugao with a serious expression and Anko with a smirk.

Jiraiya's cries of pain would echo through the village for a good time.

XXXXXX

"Aren't we going to your village?" a fearsome figure asked another.

"It appears so, but do not let your guard down. This one isn't as defenseless as we thought." The second figure replied in a monotone.

"What's the big deal? Far as we know, we just need to cut the brat's legs off." The first said with a shark-toothed grin.

"Will that be enough, though?" the stoic one asked while both moved forward, their black cloaks flowing in the wind.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you're melancholic." The more serious of the two didn't reply, they just kept walking. As they neared the gate to the village, though, a man with an orange, spiral mask appeared in black clothes. When spotting them, the masked figure ran to them, waving his arms like a man-child.

Said man spoke up with the goofiest voice possible, "Huh?! Ah, Itachi-senpai! It's been so long! Do you remember Tobi?!"

The taller of the duo groaned, "What is it?"

The newcomer waved his hands frantically, "Tobi's found out there's a dangerous guy here, guarding the boy. It's Jiraiya, the pervert!"

Both men tensed, the serious one questioning the masked one, "Are you sure?"

The childish man nodded energetically, "Tobi's a good guy, so he's telling the truth here! Senpai, you have to abort this mission urgently. If you were to fight with Jiraiya in town, getting the Jinchuuriki would be impossible. And there's still two of them. The boss says you have to get back so everyone can form a better plan."

The larger male growled, "Are you serious?! We walked all this way for not-"

"Not for nothing…" the serious one said, "We do know he has a guardian, it's a matter of passing him by. But, since it's our leader's orders, we shall return."

While this conversation took place, Naruto was taken by Anko, much to his dismay when the woman got uncomfortably close with a kunai in hand. She and Yugao had beaten Jiraiya hard enough to make every witness feel pain. The snake mistress had then convinced Naruto, by the kunai she held, to accompany her.

Yugao was there too, and while Gai was against it saying they needed to talk to Jiraiya – which of course surprised Naruto – the ponytailed purple haired kunoichi said it would kill time until the old man healed. Seeing how the self-proclaimed super pervert wouldn't walk without the help of a walking stick, Naruto decided to follow the Leaf's most feared sadist against his better judgment.

But hey, she said it was serious, so it had to be, right? Right?!

Yep, he was screwed.

"I hope you like the décor, kiddo." Anko said with a far too tight grip on his shoulder, and a dango stick in her other hand, "We usually don't keep prisoners here without questions to ask them, but thanks to you we have an exception. So go and say hi to let them know Anko Mitsarashi is a good girl, will you?"

The smile she had heralded painful death and agony if he didn't reply with a, "Yes, ma'am."

Anko frowned, poking him in the forehead, "Hey, ma'am yourself, kiddo. I'm still a young innocent lady."

Again, tact wasn't Naruto's forte, "What part of you is innocent?" he mumbled, but the woman heard him.

He started sweating when she grabbed him by the lapels of his vest, but couldn't lift him, "Huh?" she tried again, grunting, but to no avail, "What the?! How much does this thing weight?!"

Naruto, nervous from being in the sadistic viper woman's clutches, replied quickly, "Uh… two tons, I think. I usually wear four tons when training with Gai-sensei, though."

Anko's brain mentally shut itself before rebooting to properly process what he said, and once she did she let him go, "Huh, no wonder you're actually buff."

He blushed and turned around, "S-So… who do I have to s-"

"Ah, it's you!" he heard when he found himself facing Temari, escorted by a pair of ANBU, with an equally surprised though mellower Gaara, and a shocked Kankuro.

The blond was at a loss, before hurrying to the siblings, "Are you three okay?! Anko hasn't done anything to you, has she?!"

Yugao put a hand to her mouth while her friend glared at the blond boy, "Hey, brat! Who do you think I am?! Do you really expect me to torture some snot-nosed kids when they have no valuable information?!" Naruto raised a finger, "Can it." The woman with the most questionable mental stability in the world growled.

Soon the three Sand siblings were seated before him on the other side of a table, with Naruto staring at them curiously, "I want to thank you."

Now that was a good five words Naruto didn't expect from many people, especially Gaara, "Whoa, first Neji and now you? Wow, this day's getting weirder… What're you thanking me for, though?"

The petit redhead stared at him curiously, "I've been… giving some thought to what I saw in our fight, after you woke me up."

Naruto tried to recall that, "Uh… Did I really do all that much?" he looked up to his furrowed brows, as if his knitted eyebrows would answer him, "I just tried to kick you, but since I was so tired from all the fights I bet that kind of kick felt like a fly on your cheek."

Gaara blinked a couple of times, "Are you… making light of this?"

Now it was the Uzumaki's turn to blink, "What do you mean?"

Kankuro stared wide-eyed, "What do you think we mean?! You defeated a freaking raccoon large enough to kill you with a single fart and just act like it was nothing?!"

The whiskered genin scratched his head in embarrassment, "Sorry, I was really tired at the moment and letting my body move on its own."

Temari stared at him long and hard, "I guess it is true, that monster in green trained you, then?"

There was only one man to match that description, so Naruto knew who she meant, "Yeah, Gai-sensei taught me everything he could to master kicks in a month. I am looking forward to train some more to get stronger!" he cheered with a large grin before remembering he was called there for a reason, "Oh, so… what do you guys want from me? Do you really want to thank me?"

Nodding, the raccoon's carrier spoke softly, "I feel like words aren't enough, but it's a start."

The blond shinobi tilted his head to the side, "I guess… You could buy me ramen, though."

Kankuro snapped, "Hey, you're being thanked and just ask for food?! Don't you know man-"

Temari smacked her brunet brother on the head, "Speaking of manners, mind yours. He did beat me and helped our brother. And Gaara doesn't seem bothered by his request, so why should we?"

Gaara had been silent, with his eyes closed, and when he opened he gave the blond an unsettling stoic nod, "It'd be… nice. To go eat ramen with you."

Naruto felt uneasy, "You guys are weirder than I remember." And he was still as blunt as a hammer to the head, making Kankuro ready himself to shout at the tactless Uzumaki, until said boy grinned, "I like you guys way better this way! I guess I really like people who are weird like you!"

The late Kazekage's children could only stare at the brutal and childish honesty from the boy before them, Temari quickly asking, "So… Are you single?"

Naruto's brain came up with the ever eloquent answer of a well thought out, "Uh…"

Before the working neurons could connect words into a proper sentence, Naruto gasped when a hand grabbed him by his vest's collar, "There you are, kiddo! Come on, it's time to go!" even if he wore the heavy vest – which required him to put effort in controlling his legs so his chair didn't break – the pull took him off balance and nearly made him fall.

Luckily, Naruto managed to jump up and followed the arm pulling him, now realizing who was the owner of the limb, "W-What the Hell?! Ah! You're that Pervy Sage!" he got out, seeing the white wild hair.

The kabuki-like man growled, "Hey, watch it! We're in a very important mission, and I need your help. Say goodbye to your girlfriend so we can leave!" he yanked Naruto with some effort he managed to keep hidden, ' _The Hell is this vest made of? Then again, if he trained with Gai – who is definitely his father's son – he must be no wealking._ '

Naruto didn't understand a thing – also not noticing how he spoke of Temari -, so without any other choice he waved at the siblings, "Sorry about this, I'll talk to you later!" he waved at them before striding behind the green and red clad man.

Temari felt her cheeks heat up, with Anko noticed with a laugh she let out only when the kid was gone, "Oh how cute can you get?!" she laughed, but didn't notice the one behind her, "I can't wait until that brat gets back, I shall get my camera ready an-" Yugao clamped her hand over Anko's mouth, efficiently silencing the snake Jounin.

"We shall take our leave now and let you three return to your cells." She then turned to the four-pigtailed girl, "Just be mindful… after all you've done, if you break that kid's heart, I shall be the last thing you see."

Temari's face would've made the color red retire, which caused her war paint wearing brother to snicker, "Heh, so, should I call that kid my brother from now on?"

Gaara could only look in confusion as his big sister started pummeling his brother to a bloody pulp while the guards actually cheered her on. He pondered if Naruto was right and they were getting weirder.

XXXXXX

"Just so we're clear!" Naruto started, finger aimed at Jiraiya's face while both walked forward, "I'm only doing this to get stronger, and Gai-sensei said you could teach me. However, I need to know why I am here. What makes me so important than some guy I got thrown into the ER needs me?"

The white haired man groaned inwardly, ' _He's being too careful, then again, I'm seeing the same kid that just kicked me through a wall and almost broke my arms with no second thoughts. Hard to think it's the same boy._ ' He did answer, though, "I need your help to convince someone to get back in the village. After all, everyone in the Leaf has heard how you basically won the tournament with just kicks. You have the determination I need."

Naruto crossed his arms, "I don't trust you. You're still a Pervy Sage."

"Hey, knock that off! What if some beautiful lady heard a kid calling me that?!"

"Then she'd know to not get near you, which is a good thing!"

Jiraiya took a deep breath, ' _Yes, this is Kushina's kid._ ' There was an angry silence before he spoke up, "Well, I did hear of what you did, and I could see my sources were telling no lies. So, you really fight only with your legs, huh?"

"It's all I got now." Naruto grumbled, flexing his fingers from his right hand, "I still got pretty strong arms, but without chakra I can't use seals. I can use these gauntlets to block most attacks, and I've gotten pretty good at using my hands for defense and my feet to attack. I just feel like I need… something more, something besides what Gai-sensei taught me to truly be stronger."

The man with red paint on his face considered what the kid said, ' _According to Gai, regardless of how he can't use jutsus, this kid can use a far more concentrated amount of chakra on his legs than anyone else. Add that to the fox's chakra and he's a real powerhouse. However, if he could control it even better… No, what am I thinking? In his current state tapping into that nine-tailed monster's power could break the seal…_ '

Naruto narrowed his eyes, "Hey Pervy Sage, who're we looking for?"

A lightbulb appeared over the sage's head, and a large grin spread on his face when he connected the dots, telling the boy his idea as simple as possible, "We're looking for someone who can help you."

Deep cerulean eyes widened, "But I thought you-"

Jiraiya had a wider smile than usual, "That I'd help a little kid? Sorry, you're still too wet behind the ears to learn what I have in store. But if you put effort into this and master what this person can teach you… I may, just may consider teaching you a trick or two."

Blue eyes narrowed into a foxy stare of disbelief, "You just sound like Sasuke if he fully unlocked his Sharingan and wanted to brag about it." He stated flatly.

Said Uchiha boy paused his training to look up at the sky, "Why do I feel like clobbering that idiot? Tch, whatever…"

Back with our heroes, Jiraiya merely patted the boy's head, "When I say this, I am not kidding. This person we're looking for can and has broken mountains with a single punch. Imagine what your kicks could do with that kind of..." the elder sage paused, blinking when noticing the boy was gone for in his place was a cloud of dust, "…power…?"

"What're you waiting for then, Pervy Sage?!" Naruto asked a good hundred yards away, waving over at the man, "Show me the way!"

With a heavy sigh, the ponytailed kabuki followed the hyperactive child.

Their trip was sort of straightforward as Jiraiya explained who they were looking for, and how to find that person. They did have to go gambling for answers, with a bored Naruto deciding to stretch while Jiraiya nearly lost a game. Even if he wouldn't say it, he was glad Naruto always wore that heavy vest, especially when he took it off which caused the dice in the game to bounce up and make him win.

Naruto also showed some odd luck. For starters, his frog wallet had become lovingly chubby one moment… and the next, they had found the one they were looking for. Also, Naruto was picking a fight with the busty medic known as Tsunade Senju. There was tension in the air after Naruto learned she was to be the new Hokage, and now they were on the street, facing each other.

All it took was one second, a single flick of her finger, and Tsunade had sent Naruto flying back, but he didn't fall down…

"Where did you even find this brat, Jiraiya?" the voluptuous blonde asked, "At least he takes hits well, but that kind of nonsense-"

"Hey!" Naruto shouted, rubbing the sore spot on his forehead where she flicked him, and then sliding off his vest. Tsunade's and her assistant's mouths went limp when seeing the ground crack underneath its weight, "Time for round 2! And when I win, I want you to eat your words!"

Tsunade scoffed, "You really think I'd suddenly say someone wasn't an idiot for dying for no reason? Get real, you little punk. Being Hokage means wasting your life!"

"It's something I've fought for!" the fox's carrier snapped, tapping his right toes on the ground once, and then his left ones, getting his boots in place, "I don't want to listen to someone like you make fun of it! You just gave up when things didn't look happy! So you really are a big loser!"

Shizune gulped, "He… He…"

Jiraiya slapped his face, "Well, he's dead."

Tsunade felt a few veins threatening to pop on her forehead, "That's it!"

Time slowed down, like a boat nearing a waterfall. Just at the exact moment it reached the edge, if one looked at their surroundings they'd get the illusion that time came to a halt. With one's senses working overdrive, the moment gravity pulled one down hit them with realization that a single moment would decide their fate. With some luck, they might live, or ultimately die.

With Naruto, everything was do or die, thus he and Tsunade felt like they were riding a boat down a river, nearing the fall that'd determine their luck. There he was, almost flying with his leg raised up for an axe-kick, while she firmly planted her feet on the ground, throwing a punch. And then they reached the edge, the moment his heel made contact with her knuckles.

It was time for time to flow again in the river, and both felt gravity pulling down their hearts to the pits of their stomachs.

The result was an explosion of sheer brute force! Simple raw power multiplied by monstrous amounts of chakra and hard training created shockwaves that shook the streets, the walls, and even the witnesses. Shizune cried while holding her pet pig closely. Jiraiya grit his teeth despite his instinct to let his jaw hang limply at seeing a boy's leg match one of Tsunade's punches.

The two yellow haired fighters yelped when the impact caused both to fly back, with Naruto landing on his back and rolling backwards, ending down on his knees after one roll. Tsunade for her part forced her feet to stop the force, skidding to a halt and simultaneously kicking up a large amount of dirt. The two got up and panted, still looking pretty determined to fight, but also acknowledging something.

"You really want to be Hokage that badly? Even when your kick at full force barely matches a simple punch of mine?" the curvaceous blonde asked.

The stubborn kid spat on the ground, "You can bet on it."

Tsunade smirked, "Fine, then I shall make a bet with you… Train yourself as hard as you want with Jiraiya or whoever you choose to follow. After that time has passed, you and I will fight. If you win, I will be Hokage and give you this." She showed him her necklace, making her assistant gasp, "It's worth more than you think, brat. But if you lose, well…" she flashed him his frog wallet.

"Ah! My baby!" Naruto cried, trying to see if it was a duplicate, only to find she had the real deal, still filled with large stacks of money, "Hey, give her back, Granny! I worked hard to keep her cute and chubby, so hand over my baby!" he raced at her, about to get greeted by another flick, but this time he parried it with his leg.

Surprise was all over the gambling woman's face, but she swiftly hid it, "If you want it back, earn it. That's what it means to bet, to know you can lose it all in a bad choice. You get to live with it."

He sneered at the cynical woman, "I don't plan on losing, even if it's gambling! One week!" he yelled, holding up one finger, "I'll train for an entire week, create some cool moves, and come back to beat you!"

Tsunade burst out laughing, "You?! Come up with some new jutsus on your own?!" she turned serious, shouting back, "You're centuries from knowing what that means!"

"Want to make that another bet?!" our hero challenged.

Lightning clashed between the two shinobi specialists in brute force, making their companions sigh deeply.

However, the one with the spiky ponytail wondered something, ' _This is as good a test as any to see what he can do. He got this far with Gai's help, let's see what he can do on his own._ '

And thus, the next day our protagonist was walking down the streets, groaning to himself with a hand ruffling his hair. He looked and sounded positively distraught, which caught the attention of some people. Others, however, could only question whether he was a good boy or delusional, the latter because he was mumbling to himself while walking.

"Dammit… I came here precisely to learn new moves…" he shook his head to get rid of the negative thoughts. "Wait, what am I complaining about? I came here to be stronger, I just have to figure it myself. Easier said than done, though. This place doesn't look like anyone wants to fight, and most people come here either to the temples or to gamble… Is there anything to do in this place?"

Just when he asked that, his ears were bombarded with sound. It was odd, it was a bit disorienting but, mostly, it was pleasant to listen to. Curiously, Naruto turned his head to the side and saw two men. He couldn't help but stare. They wore jumpsuits, not like his, this one looked like something an old man would have on for a jog. Also, both were posing with their arms crossed, standing on top of a makeshift floor of cardboard.

He moved closer, resisting the urge to bang his head to the beat like the men did.

And then, they started competing with the blond and a small crowd watching them wipe the floor, quite literally in one's case. One of them was spinning his body around, wiping out his legs while alternating between having his hands and feet on the ground. The other was spinning his back around the cardboard they used as a stage, using his hands and legs to keep his momentum.

To add to how ridiculous it all was, they stopped without any notice. The two men had cancelled the momentum to pose with their legs in the air in some odd poses.

The sight of two men dancing so bizarre sunk into the hot-headed genin's head, and soon enough a grin formed on his face. It was like a revelation.

From then on, Jiraiya barely saw Naruto. Every time he tried to track him the sage would find him staring at people doing odd tricks on the street, ' _Perhaps he's trying to take his mind off the stress. But how will he win this bet? And… when did he get new shoes?_ '

He hadn't noticed until now, but Naruto's feet were adorned by odd black shoes with no laces. They were easy to slip on, had orange soles, and a matching orange toe-guard. Had he looked with more detail, he'd have noted the street performers wore similar shoes, which allowed them to control their footing.

The days passed by, and even Shizune wondered if something was wrong with Naruto. He'd leave in the mornings and come back until late at night covered in dirt and even grass. She did want to tell her mentor to stop the bet and return the boy his money, but she also knew how stubborn the woman was.

Speaking of Tsunade, not even she - as uncaring as she could be with her current level of cynicism – had overlooked the boy acted strange. Maybe she had been hearing things, but when she passed by his room once there seemed to be music coming from it. She brushed it off as him being a teenager and moved one.

Of course, none of them could shake a feeling of uneasiness.

XXXXXX

Kabuto had had a pretty good day. He had a good healthy breakfast, he had traumatized an old woman with her old phobia after she tried to harm his master, and was about to force her and her assistant to do a good job. He was happy that he had showed the two women that he and his master were superior, but then… he had to appear. The same kid he had tried and failed to take out of his plans along his master.

"Kabuto… You venomous son of a bitch!" Naruto shouted once he learned the truth, taking off his vest to show that in one week he hadn't been idle, his six pack was marking his muscle shirt, "So you didn't look out for me when telling me to get out of the Chuunin exams, you were just laughing at me!"

"Who do you think you are to think you deserve better?!" Kabuto spat back, "You're broken, completely limited because Orochimaru decided it to be that way! Such a simple thing, a life not worth squashing! My master left your worthless carcass alive, and yet you stand here, the prodigal son of the Leaf, facing against someone so far your better, it's laughable-"

"Do you even listen to the crap you're spewing?! I don't care what you or that bastard think, say, or do! I'm not letting you two hurt anyone just because you think you can!" Naruto said before taking an odd pose, his right hand near his left shoulder, and his left hand near his right hip while weaving his body to a beat in his head, "I guess I shall try my new techniques against you."

Kabuto nearly laughed, "You call that a technique? Well then, let me show you how abysmal the difference is between you and the real shinobi!"

 **NARUTO UZUMAKI VS KABUTO YAKUSHI**

 **STEP UP TO THE BEAT!**

 **ROUND 1!**

 **BEGIN!**

Kabuto rushed, not even thinking twice. He just wanted the little punk down and out of business for good even if he had to do so himself. With his chakra scalpels ready, he slashed at the boy's legs to get him down. Naruto responded in either the stupidest or craziest ways by side-stepping with a twirl, his hands up in the air like he didn't care. It did serve to anger someone who was more serious.

Naruto returned to hi odd stance, still weaving to the rhythm in his head while Kabuto lunged yet again, still aiming for his legs. With a smirk, Naruto dodged the strike by leaning his body to the side, and moving his arms, alternating fist bumps in the air as he did. Now angrier, the assistant of the snake could only stare as Naruto started to… dance… just dance. He moved one foot back and forth while waving his arms.

"Get serious, you damn br-" The spectacled shinobi cried, but was shown that the blond genin was actually being serious. Mid-dance, Naruto turned his body to the side, moving like he were out of a wild tropical dance and simultaneously delivering a kick to Kabuto's side. The ponytailed shinobi gasped for breath, but Naruto kept on dancing and delivering kicks, spinning from one side to the other to the beat.

"The Hell…?" Tsunade gasped out when Kabuto fell down, with some bruises that he himself had to heal fast.

Naruto for his part landed on his feet and stroke a pose, crossing his arms, "Behold the new techniques I've made with the Dynamic Arts and a week of hard work learning new moves: Dancer Style!"

The Sendu heiress groaned mentally, ' _That's Minato's son, alright. Only someone who got called the Yellow Flash could come up with something like that._ '

Kabuto spat on the ground once he got off it, "You call that a style?! You're too predictable! You only hit me because you caught me off guard, that pathetic style of yours won't change anything!"

Shizune gasped, ' _He's right, it doesn't matter what he does if the kicks are easy to see coming._ '

Naruto glared and threw himself to the floor, making Kabuto think he'd do a somersault, but instead the boy stood on his hands. In that same moment, the boy spread his legs, and used his arms to spin himself and his legs like a helicopter's blades. And while Kabuto wouldn't have thought anything about it given that his legs had all his chakra, he should have looked at the biceps Naruto had.

The purple clad shinobi had to backpedal when Gai's training for Naruto's arms paid off, making him catch up to the ponytailed albino. With a grunt, Kabuto decided to end it, ducking under the kicks to slash at the kid's torso, "How stupid can you get?! An attack like that with the same repeating motions will only get you kill-"

Naruto stopped. In a split second, Naruto's body had stopped spinning and instead he was doing a hand-stand, his left leg stretched all the way to his side with his right foot on his left thigh, making an odd pose. Kabuto was too distracted by the pose and the fact all momentum had stopped to register Naruto swinging his legs down. Twisting his body, using the impulse of his leg strength and his arms to help, he hit Kabuto.

Once again, the snake's disciple found himself on the floor while Naruto stood on one hand supporting his body, his buttocks half a foot off the ground while he kept his legs spread, "I know that better than you, which is why I didn't stop until I learned how to stop my momentum and change attacks just as quickly." The whiskered shinobi smirked, "I trained to surpass Granny, but now I'm going to show you my moves!"

The purple wearing albino was growing angrier, "Impossible… How are you hurting me?! I'm better than you on every level, more experienced, more powerful, more mature… so why?!"

Whirling around on his back while on the ground, Naruto's legs spun out like a top, their swinging pendulum like movements actually forcing Kabuto to backpedal. The spectacled disciple of Orochimaru knew he couldn't swipe down either as he saw chakra blades ripple down the wind user's limbs, the foxiest of all Jinchuuriki was literally spinning to win.

Tsunade had to take back some words, ' _Creating a style that makes him deceivingly predictable… Yes, this is Minato's son._ '

Leaping up so suddenly it surprised him, Kabuto caught a rising kick to the chin that sent him falling back, and forced to heal himself or risk brain damage. Naruto landed on his feet, bouncing from sole to sole in a manner reminiscent of a kick boxer while waving his arms around, flapping them like wings. He ended it all by striking another pose, stomping a foot on the ground and pointing at Kabuto.

This time Naruto showed his red hot passion, "I told you before, I don't care how impossible you say something is, I just want to win! I'm done being a loser and letting guys like you take what little someone has!"

Kabuto just didn't care, he wanted the boy dead, "Stop being so conceited!"

Naruto returned to his first stance, watching Kabuto race at him, "Dynamic Arts..." Kabuto swung his arms, trying to get the boy. And when he thought he did, he realized something, his hands phased through him. He hadn't hit Naruto, the boy had moved so fast he left an afterimage! "Dancer Style: Phantom… SHOT!"

About three days' worth of meals rose to Kabuto's throats when he felt the boy's heel smack on his ribcage. Even his vertebrae threatened to crack, but the surgeon shinobi forced all of his chakra into healing the bone. He felt his eyes rolling to the back of his skull as the pain seemed to intensify on his back. He heard a crack and put even more chakra to heal the backbone as fast as Naruto was damaging it and his organs.

Then, the boy's heel left, making Kabuto think it was over… How wrong he was when the other heel introduced itself firmly to his liver!

Without even the ability to cry or scream from pain, Kabuto was sent flying back into a boulder which split in two upon impact. Kabuto was still conscious, but the pain he felt told him that most of his chakra was gone. Not only that, if he took another kick from the kid, he truly wouldn't count it. The brat was dangerous, too dangerous! The pain he had was nothing compared to the shame and anger he felt against him.

Naruto landed on his feet and turned to the beaten surgeon, hooking a thumb to his face, "What's the matter? Getting a little..." he groaned, gasping for breath, "Sh-Shit, not now…"

Kabuto grinned, now finally noticing it, "You just made a new fighting style in a week, because you never stopped or went to sleep, did you?" he was in now place to mock the kid, but he'd try.

Naruto smirked back, "And it helped me kick your butt. Just try and get up!"

The Sound shinobi growled, "You damn… Ugh…" he did try to get up, only to fall down on his face, "D-Damn you…"

Before Naruto could try to keep up his tough act, Tsunade placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, "You rest, we can take it from here."

Her fellow blond snickered, "Fine, but when you can't keep up, I'll go next."

The woman smiled, "Stubborn punk… Fine, Jiraiya and I will make sure you can rest, you earned it."

Naruto let his back hit the ground and did that. He had earned it.

 **XXXXXX**

And that's my rap!

This may be the final chapter to this for I don't know if I can keep this fresh.

The breakdancing style comes from the game Ryu Ga Gotoku Zero/Yakuza 0, from one Goro Majima, a crazy motherfucker you can find crossdressing while picking a Kung Fu fight of epic proportions with a dude in a disco suit and call it a Tuesday. So him breakdancing to beat thugs in the neon light streets of Tokyo in the late 80s was too good to not use.

Even if I went with One Piece and the style the CP9 use, I want to feel like I have a better grasp on this to keep it going than let the idea run dry. For now, I hope you enjoyed how ridiculous I made this last fight be. It was fun making this even if I knew the idea may hit a limit where I'd have to stop it. I may do more crossover omakes later on. But… well…

I really don't want to do the arc where Sasuke betrays everyone. If you're a Naruto fan you may agree with me that the ending of that arc needs to take two steps back and go… dammit, this is T-rated, I can't use the big words here. Anyway, the whole thing with Sasuke betraying everyone, ignoring Naruto, and unsettling homoerotic images with minors doesn't fancy me.

I hope you've had fun with this. I know I have, so you guys enjoying it is a bonus.

Now here are more omakes:

(Teen Titans)

Really, Naruto should have already figured out that fighting someone made stronger people come after him. After beating up the trio that just wanted to pick up a fight with him, another one had started. He wasn't at fault, really! He just wondered why the two girls in the group wore such revealing outfits. Ok, he did word it wrong, but the redhead looked like she and Ino could exchange dressing tips.

"Titans, go!" their multicolored leader shouted, throwing some bird shaped shuriken at him.

Naruto kicked them out of the air, and the one with a metallic body came right at him with a mean hook, "Booyah!" the larger teen shouted when he made contact, but widened his artificial and human eyes when he found the blond boy's shin stopping his attack, "Fine, eat this!" this time, his other arm morphed into an odd cylinder with a hole. Naruto didn't know why, but he jumped back, and good thing too.

"You shoot lightning?!" Naruto asked in shock when seeing the blue beam hit a lamp post.

He didn't have much time to think on that when the small, green teen rushed at him and morphed into what Naruto could best describe as the biggest lizard he had ever seen. The T-Rex roared at him and tried to smack him with its tail. This time Naruto leapt into the air, where he found the cute redhead who was growling at him.

"This is Tamaranian regular battle clothing, not a bikini you speak of!" she punched the blond, who replied with a kick, surprised at her strength matching his. He kicked the air to get some distance, but she just flew after him, as did the pale girl. Several objects engulfed in a black energy were thrown at him on the girl with the black leotard.

"Ok, ok, I get it! I shouldn't have asked if you wanted to get a tan!" Naruto cried, slicing a car in half with a well-placed kick before kicking the air once again, getting on a rooftop where he found the leader, "Wait a- How'd you get here so fast?!"

"You're not fooling us." The boy said while taking out a steel staff, "Slade told us there'd be a test for us here, and you're dressed like you'd work for him."

Naruto looked at his outfit, "Hey, what's wrong with my clothes? Orange is my color."

"This ends now!" the boy said, throwing any strike in the book against the blond, who merely danced around the swings and stabs before breaking the weapon with a well-placed kick.

"Listen, you gel-obsessed, multicolored weirdo! I want no trouble! I just want to get home!" Naruto snapped while the rest of the Titans arrived.

Their leader glared at him, mostly for the insult, "You really want us to believe that? Sorry, but at this moment we have no reason to trust you. If Slade's involved, we can't take that risk."

Naruto groaned, "If I find this Slade guy, I'm kicking him to the next continent."

(Avatar: the Last Airbender)

"Nice moves!" the braided brunette said as she threw lightning fast jabs at the dancing blond.

"Same to you!" he said, though not as cheerfully as her. He felt too many similarities between her strikes and the Hyuuga's style to let her get any closer. Sadly for him, the stoic one had many knives ready in her hands to skewer him with, forcing the blond to throw himself to the floor and twirl his back on it, throwing a few kicks against the brunette to keep her at bay and dodge the bladed projectiles.

"Not bad." The regal girl said, clapping slowly before aiming a finger at him, "Let's see if you're fast enough to dodge this!"

Naruto yelped when the girl's fingertips shot, to his disbelief, a bolt of lightning.

The tides didn't change, they were astronomically shifted for Azula when Naruto kicked and cut the bolt in two, "What were you saying?" he asked, getting back on his feet and taking a more normal stance.

The cocky grin he gave her made the fire user grin back, worrying him, "Amusing… Please tell me what your name is. I may have heard it before, but I want to hear it now in order to remember it."

He felt like he was signing a contract with a demon, "Naruto… Naruto Uzumaki."

Azula's smile widened, "Naruto, the more I fight you… the more I want you."

Naruto stepped back, hands up, "Wait, wait, wait! I'm A-Okay with a date! Hell, I'm up for anything you'd want with words like that, but you were trying to kill me, you crazy but sexy bitch!"

Ty Lee giggled, "No, silly! Azula wants you as a servant, a slave. I guess we shall break you first so you bow down to her."

Mai nodded, a small and rather creepy smile on her face, "This should be fun."

Naruto felt like crying, "Why me?" he actually whined, Anko scared him enough on a regular basis, but a girl like her purposely after him was a nightmare come true.

(Street Fighter)

"Sakura Kasugano, how dare you lose and most of all to a simple peasant like this boy?!"

Naruto and Sakura were greeted with a girl in a red school uniform with blonde hair in long curls. She had a dignified air around her, as in he did feel some arrogance coming from the girl. Judging by the girl the brunette had, she didn't like this girl, at all. Now, Naruto had fun with Sakura, sparring with her got his blood pumping and she did have some cool moves.

So he stepped up to the girl, "Hey, who are you?"

The girl placed a hand hear her mouth, giving him a condescending look, "Such little manners, but I guess I shall be polite and introduce myself. I am Karin Kanzuki, an heiress to a family that achieves perfection. However, once I started to take martial arts to avoid a dull life, who but none other than Sakura Kasugano comes here to ruin my family's legacy?"

Sakura cracked her knuckles, "Listen Karin, if you want to put the tough girl act, save it for when I have to kick your a-"

"Such vulgar vocabulary. And your friend hasn't even introduced himself." Karin said, sparks flying between her and Sakura's eyes.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and bowed, "Uh… I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

Karin stared at him dully, "Charmed." She said dully, before noticing he was kind of buff, "Hmm… I see, so you're not like those punks Sakura fights. I feared for a second she'd have lost to some two-bit thug. But you actually look strong."

Naruto grinned, "Want to find out how strong?" he took his own stance.

Karin flicked her hair back elegantly, smirking, "Now, that'd be interesting, and a good way to settle my score with Sakura. I'm not going to let anyone think there's two people who can be atop the Kanzuki family name."

Naruto frowned, "Geesh, why don't you have some fun? All that family stuff sounds kinda… sad." He then smiled and took on his Dancer Style pose, "Just so you know, Sakura promised me ramen if I won, so if I win this, you got to take us both out for a bowl."

Karin smirked, taking her own stance, "Intriguing, you think I'd let you win so easily? Well, I would certainly enjoy hearing how you defeated Sakura."

Said girl finally snapped, "Naruto, kick her fat ass!"

"How dare you!" Karin snapped back.

Naruto simply laughed, he would definitely have fun where he was.

(RWBY)

"Well… that was Hell to get out of…" Naruto groaned as he removed a needle sword from his arm by pulling its umbrella handle, "That chocolate and strawberry ice cream psycho midget was a pain."

He threw the needle sword on the ground and walked through a city, letting his wound heal. Behind him, many miles away, a large facility was on fire. The owners left in their flying machines while cursing the blond, his future children, and his future children's children. Naruto couldn't really give a damn about it after they tried to kill him. If he were legal, he'd try to get a drink. He looked and felt like he had been chewed up.

That's when he realized something, he was lost. The moment he did, he reached back and grabbed an elder man with a balding head, an apron, and Japanese features by his collar. The man said nothing, but he gave the kid a questioning glance. Due to his age, the man had seen a lot of bad things happening in the city and didn't want any problems.

"Hey, do you know where can I get some answers and perhaps a mission? Even D-rank help if the money's good." Naruto had also realized he would need cash.

The elder pointed to a suspicious looking club, not even mumbling.

The whiskered shinobi arched a brow, "Let me guess, there's tons of mean guys armed to the teeth." The elder nodded, "They've got good fighters in there, too." Another nod, "Is it worth the money?" the old man shrugged, "Good enough for me."

The man only watched the boy walk into the club and shrugged. Not a minute later, just as he was about to cross the street, did a man in a black suit with a red tie, black fedora, and red shades crash down.

The sound of fighting echoed in the club as Naruto, who had asked for a job, had been surrounded by a small army which members were currently getting their asses handed to them by a kid wiping the dance floor.

Their leader, a middle-aged man with a beard, a white dress shirt combined with a black vest and red tie, growled, "What do they feed kids nowadays?" he then turned to a pair of twins, girls, with matching outfits but in different colors, "It's a blond, kick him out while I ponder whether or not to forbid blondes to enter this-"

His DJ, a man with a large Teddy bear mask, landed hard between him and the twins, "I guess we should teach him a lesson, Miltia." Said one in a smarmy tone.

Her sister nodded, "This should be good to practice our moves, Melanie."

Naruto turned to face the two girls, leaning his head to the side, "Alright, what's your gimmick? All these guys were mooks, so what do you girls have?" one twin showed him her clawed gauntlets while the other readied her bladed shoes, "You two don't like talking much, do you?"

Their boss leaned on the rail, "Listen, kid, you're too young for a guy like me to let you in on my business. You don't even know what we do here, do you?"

"I just want a way home, so I need the cash, old man." Naruto said.

The twins giggled while their boss growled, "You little… Who're you calling old?! Name's Junior, and I built this place with my life's efforts!"

Our thickheaded hero just got one thing in mind, "Your name's Junior? Aren't you too old for a name like that?"

"Kick him out!" Junior ordered the girls.

About two minutes of intense fighting, Naruto was seating on a couch with Junior frantically signing papers, a large ice bag on his face, "So, how much do I get from a mission?"

"Depends on the client…" Junior said with a groan, "Our last one wasn't happy with the guys, so I hope you do what you did here for any new costumer."

"So, do I get a suit?"

"He'd look dashing in one, Melanie."

"Only if he has the style for it, Miltia."

Naruto turned to the twins, "Do you always talk like creepy twins from a horror movie?"

They turned on their heels while Junior finished the contract.

(Final Fantasy XIII)

Naruto groaned in a deep sleep, noticing someone was dragging him out of water. On his back he could sense sand shuffle under him, meaning he didn't have his vest. He also felt a pair of small hands under his armpits pulling him away from the water, and he could hear waves. Despite how harsh the sun was when it shone directly on the eyes of someone who had been unconscious, he tried to wake up.

Cerulean orbs tried to adjust to the overload of light, but managed to find relief in a shade. Soon a colors could be made out, and a form started to take shape. The most notable color was pink.

"No way… Sakura?" he mumbled.

A little girl questioned him, her side ponytail swinging as she tilted her head, "Sakura? Who's that?"

He rubbed his face, trying to get the sleep off, "Ugh… what happened? I was at the valley, Sasuke was being an ass, and…"

"Are you… ok?" the girl asked, "Do you know who you are?"

He nodded slowly, rubbing his temples to nurse a headache, "I'm Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki. And I feel like I won a fight by the skin of my teeth." He had been doing well in the fight, though, using his legs to kick Sasuke around the valley for trying to go with Orochimaru. He had been about to win, but then… he was then shoved somewhere with lots of water, so he had to take off his vest to try to swim to the surface.

Next thing he knew, he was staring at a girl a couple or more years younger than him in a cute white summer dress fit for her twelve years old body. She possessed cute blue eyes, innocence all over her face, and a cute side ponytail, "I'm Serah Farron." She said with a warm smile, "I'm glad you're safe, Naruto."

" _So I was saved by a little girl… Somehow it doesn't sound so bad when she's this cute._ ' He shook his head and got up, though Serah was right by his side to see that he didn't fall off, he didn't, "Don't worry, I'm fine. Anyway, do you know where the Leaf is? I need to get back home."

Serah blinked, "The Leaf?"

Naruto felt his heart sink, "Where am I?"

Serah stared curiously at him, "In Bodhum, a nice beach city in Cocoon. My sis Claire loves it since it's nice and peaceful. She wants to be a Soldier to keep it that way."

"Ok then." Naruto let himself fall flat on his back against the sand, his arms and legs stretched to the sides, "I'm… lost…" he put both hands to his face, trying hard not to scream, "Serah, I'm about to say every swear word I know, cover your ears."

When the girl did so, he poured his heart out with every bomb he could throw.

It was definitely a crazy day for him.

 **XXXXXX**

Swordslinger out!


	4. Chapter 4

I OWN NOTHING

Time for me to see how good my writing skills are by tackling the biggest challenge writing these stories, to write a fight with Sasuke while trying to not bash him.

Thank Rashid and his awesome theme song in Street Fighter V and Pokken Tournament for Blaziken's awesome kicks for giving me some inspiration for this chapter.

Recommended music for this chapter's fight:

Ryu Ga Gotoku Zero/Yakuza 0 OST – Red Radical Rage

 **Disclaimer** : Before anyone jumps on my ass to shout what I'm doing with the girls, who is going to be paired with who and whether or not Naruto has a harem… Just read this fic and don't mind that. Sure, I do act like I will give Naruto a harem, but let's be honest people, if the female characters were handled with care, had been fleshed out more, and had far more active roles, they'd be far more loved.

I mean, take away Sakura and Ino's obsession with Sasuke and you can flesh them out as two girly girls trying to be kunoichis with a sort of admirer and admiree rivalry. Have Hinata fight more like how she did with Neji – and winning – and you can see a developing character becoming stronger. Tenten… just give her more screen time, more interactions with others, and you're set, and the same goes for Temari.

We never saw much of Yugao's inner turmoil over having to know her partner died to a Sand shinobi. Anko's struggles to overcome knowing she's related to Orochimaru didn't get any more development than their fight which she lost. Kurenai is supposed to be a badass genjutsu mistress but aside from her fight with Itachi – which she lost – yours truly doesn't recall her doing much else but having Azuma's baby.

Kaguya is actually an interesting concept given she brought peace but saw wars starting because of it. If we could have dug deeper into it, she'd have been a truly great villain.

That is why, even if this fic focuses on Naruto, has no bashing, no pairings, and everything is more comedy and action than drama, I want to give some loving to characters that were just kind of there in the manga. I may not do all of them in one chapter, but I'll try to do my best with what I can get out.

Also, yes, I do have fun teasing you guys with possible pairings, consider it my inner-sadist's doing.

 **XXXXXX**

It was the morning of a new day after the battle between the three legendary shinobi of the Leaf. Things had gotten busier for everyone.

"Damn that brat…" Orochimaru grumbled in his hideout after an embarrassing retreat.

Kabuto growled, "If only I had been paying more attention, I could have helped you better."

"No need to worry… It seems we really have to move things forward." The traitor to the Leaf said, sneering, "Send the Sound 4 to retrieve Sasuke-kun, and tell them that if that Uzumaki boy ever gets in their way... That I want his eyes in a jar, so I can crush them in my very own hands."

"I have a plan to make him come willingly, it's not exactly a lie, at least not fully." Kabuto said, getting his master's attention.

With our young hero, however, things were different. Once he arrived to the village, Tsunade was made Hokage, and he was ready to start training, he found some news he disliked. Namely the fact the self-proclaimed Super Pervert was missing. Thus Tsunade had to deal with answering some of the kid's questions, namely one that had been really bugging him.

"You really want me to train you?" the busty woman asked in disbelief, "I am up to my neck in paperwork and you want me out of this office to train you?"

"I won our bet." Naruto said, holding up the necklace he got out of their deal.

"It's because of you that I'm in this office doing paperwork, you little- Ugh!" the woman wanted to curse, but ended her rant by slapping her forehead, "This is all Jiraiya's fault, always shrugging any problems in his life and leaving others to fend for themselves…"

"Listen Granny," that got him her attention, albeit not for reasons she liked, "Pervy Sage said you could help me control my chakra better. If that is true, then I know I'm not really giving it my all with my kicks."

Heartfelt as his words may be, they confused the deceivingly young woman, "What do you even mean, kid? You kicked Orochimaru's servant like he owed you money. I don't think there's more your kicks need."

Shaking his head energetically, Naruto continued, "No, you don't get it. I don't want to reach a limit and leave it there, nor do I want to break it. I want to go above and beyond. My Dancer Style was a good step up, but after seeing how strong you are I know I can do more. I know I have to do things on my own if I want to get stronger, but I also know I need help to do so. Please, Granny."

Tsunade covered her face with one hand, massaging her temples. On one hand, she wanted to tell him to drop the nickname, on the other, he was giving her a pleading look the kind a cute puppy would use, "Fine, I guess I can teach you. My fighting style is not very complicated but it's also not easy to master. Meet me here in the evening and we can begin."

"Then I'm supposed to wait until you're done with your paperwork?" Naruto asked, childishly crossing his arms.

The pigtailed medic felt her brain ready to burst from anger, "You damn brat, it's your fault I'm locked in this damn job!"

Seeing his mistake, Naruto took the smart approach of smiling, "Well, will Lee be ok?"

Tsunade's anger disappeared as she remembered something she had trouble pondering, "That boy with the busted arm and leg, right? Not even I am confident in this kind of operation, but…" she smiled briefly, "If there's the slightest chance he can recover, I'll be sure to let you, him, and Gai know."

Pumping his fist in excitement, the small ninja cheered, "I'm counting on you, Granny! If it weren't for me seeing Lee fight or how hard he and Gai-sensei trained, I wouldn't be here!" the slug woman saw a fire in his eyes, "He hasn't lost his chance to keep on fighting! So I'm saying this as a guy that got a chance to fight for his dream when things turned grim, give him the chance he needs!"

A ghostly tickle made the woman's lips curl up, "No need to tell me twice. Now get going. Do whatever a young teen does in your age, and meet me in the evening. I'm going to make you regret every bad thing you've called me in our training sessions."

Widening his grin, the blond genin answered to her declaration by exclaiming, "Bring it on!" He threw his right fist forward with his most confident grin.

After watching him leave, Tsunade couldn't help but smile to herself, "That kid… He isn't really fighting for this village, yet he's become the kind of shinobi this place doesn't deserve." She smiled fondly at a few memories, seeing Naruto's face grinning in her mind. After shaking her head, she returned to her paperwork. She needn't worry, this time her necklace would truly protect someone more than worthy of it.

However, just as Naruto exited the Hokage office he found someone he didn't expect to see, "It's been a while."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, "What is it, Sasuke?" the youngest Uchiha had that monotone and serious look on his face that the blond genin didn't like since day one.

"I've heard what you talked about with the new Hokage. That is why I want to see something for myself." He put his hands in his pockets, "We never really fought, so let's go."

Grinning wider and wilder than ever, Naruto showed his more feral side, "Place and time."

"The place where we became shinobi. Right now." In a blue of wind and leaves, Sasuke left, with Naruto gritting his teeth.

"You're not getting there first!" He took a sprinting position and started running.

Outside of the building, Sasuke smirked as he had a good lead, miles away from the Hokage Tower, "He's still too slow to re-" his words died in his throat when a large cloud of dust erupted from the tower. It then became a hurricane, as people screamed in shock and slight fear. Soon the dust tornado zipped past him, towards the place where he would be fighting Naruto.

The black eyed teen found the whiskered boy leaning on the log he had been tied to on their exam with their sensei. The blond Uzumaki had a grin a mile wide, and his arms cockily crossed over his chest, "I didn't train to lose, Sasuke. Let me warn you, no matter who it is I'm fighting, I'll make sure I won't let what happened to Zabuza repeat itself, and I will be strong enough to face that creep Orochimaru when I see him!"

Clenching his hands into fists, Sasuke summoned his Sharingan, "Then I can go all out. Let's see how good that determination is against my clan's legacy which I've always carried with pride and joy!"

 **NARUTO UZUMAKI VS SASUKE UCHIHA**

 **THE WEIGHT OF A SHINOBI'S PRIDE!**

 **ROUND 1!**

 **BEGIN!**

Without any other thought, Naruto rushed forward, throwing off his vest the instant he did so. Seeing the heavy piece of clothing hit the ground, Sasuke immediately threw his head to the side, a foot inches from his face. Smirking cockily at the blond, the youngest Sharingan user tried to get a direct jab to his whiskered face. Even with the Sharingan, he couldn't have predicted what happened.

With his foot still airborne, Naruto brought it down, changing his momentum in the blink of an eye and having his other leg up even before his shoe touched the ground. Sasuke winced and was forced to use his arms to block the shin that would have rattled and perhaps knocked off some teeth. He ground his teeth at the force, which had him skidding back two yards. Even with chakra to protect himself, it still hurt.

Not only that, Naruto was dancing! The blond was weaving his body side to side while shaking his arms in odd poses, "The Hell are you doing…?" Sasuke asked more in disbelief than anger. He even felt his jaw go limp. Was Naruto taking it as a joke? Now that started to get him angry. Or it would have had the blond not spoken.

"This is my new style, Dancer Style! You may try to copy my moves with your Sharingan if you want, but…" Naruto stopped, taking a pose with a finger aimed at the red-eyed boy, "this is a style I made to change my momentum! No matter what kick I throw and you see coming, I'll show you a complete new move without wasting a single second!"

Suddenly, a smile grew on Sasuke's face, "So this is what you've been training for. Interesting. However, I can't afford to lose to you! If you say you will grow stronger, I'll have to be even stronger if I want to beat that man! Naruto, I'm afraid I can't let you keep that promise you made to yourself of never losing."

Naruto put his left hand behind his back, his right knee up, and his grin brighter than ever, "You're not even sorry, so drop the act and fight!"

Letting Sasuke get closer, Naruto used both his arms and right leg to block a punch. The Uchiha tensed, feeling that something was wrong if Naruto let him get a hit. Surprisingly, while Naruto trained his arms for defense, without much chakra Sasuke still managed to break his guard like he expected. But Naruto also expected that. Using the momentum of the punch, Naruto let himself fall back, spinning his body around.

Sasuke brought up his own leg to try to stop a mule kick from the whiskered genin, who had his body bent down to throw the strike without much problem, even using a hand on the ground for support. Sasuke felt his foot receive the force from the kick, sending painful shivers up his ankle and to his thigh. He gasped when the force to the kick sent him flying towards the trees. Mentally kicking his ass, the Uchiha landed safe.

"Like Kabuto said, what monstrous will." He said while quickly flashing through hand signs, seeing the blond rush at him, "You're too straightforward, Naruto, even if you manage to change your trajectory and momentum, you're still the same!"

With a deep breath, the Uchiha scorched the area beneath him, leaving sooth and burned dirt on the ground. He grinned when he sensed the blond above him, having heard the noise he made when kicking the air. Roaring, he brought him his right arm for a palm strike, about to strike the chest of a shocked Naruto. However, the most hyperactive and unpredictable of shinobi proved true to being what he was.

Surprising the Uchiha yet again, Naruto kicked the air once again, spun around his body midair, and, defying all logic, landed an axe kick on Sasuke's right shoulder. The boy's red eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he felt the full impact of the kick. His joints screamed as they shook from the force, and he knew that if Naruto used his full strength the strike would most likely dislocate or break his shoulder.

However, Naruto had a flaw, he underestimated how determined Sasuke was to grow stronger. The blond groaned when the Sharingan user forced his other arm to land an upper-cut squarely on the blue eyed Uzumaki's gut. Thanking Gai for training him rigorously to take strikes better, Naruto sucked up the pain and kicked the air again, getting some much needed distance between himself and his teammate.

"I may still be the same in a way…" Naruto grunted, getting to his feet while staring at Sasuke on the tree, his grin returning, "But I'm still here and I still don't plan on losing!"

Despite the way Naruto kept acting cocky, the Uchiha couldn't help but grin, "Good, it wouldn't be fun if beating you were that easy!"

He really should have known to be careful for what he wished, for Naruto jumped at him. He tried to read the airborne Uzumaki, but the whiskered genin decided to show the Uchiha his style's true unpredictable nature. With a kick in the air, Naruto was far away from the avenging boy, up in the sky much to his shock. Sasuke could try to read him, but there was something odd. He could see his chakra, but…

"No hand signs for you to copy!" the blond propelled himself down like a bomb ready to crush its target.

He then spread his legs and started spinning like a saw. Feeling his gut sink to the pit of his bowels, Sasuke recognized the attack as the one that helped cut through Shukaku's armor. This time it was faster, so the red eyed boy had to react the instant Naruto's legs started to cut at the top of the tree. He didn't dare to watch the tree get split in half, he just jumped to the other and watched the large cut and-

"How…" Sasuke started to sweat for, again defying all logic, Naruto had disappeared in the middle of his tree slicing. The top half of the tree was split perfectly in half, with both halves hanging off to the sides. He knew Naruto. It was true that the blue eyed genin was the kind that punched first and asked questions mid-punch, but he was too damn cunning to take lightly. After all, it was he who outsmarted Zabuza.

"Heads up!" was all the warning the Uchiha got as Naruto zipped at him from the side. The Sharingan user ducked under a lightning fast flying kick and thought he saw an opening for a brief instant. He threw his hand up, but missed his target by a long shot. Instead, a large cut was seen on the side of the tree, like a bullet cutting someone's cheek. And the instant contact was made it was like Naruto had disappeared again.

Now he recognized the tactic, "Jumping around to try to land a hit on me like you did with Kiba won't help, Naruto." He finally found a trail of orange, "Unlike him, I can keep up with you and-" And Naruto's hand was on his shoulder, with the blond doing a hand-stand over the Uchiha, ready to bring down his knee on his teammate's face. Violently twisting his body to the side, the youngest Uchiha avoided the blow.

As quickly as his knee passed his target, Naruto kicked the air.

Now Sasuke understood how Naruto was fighting like a ninja, a true shinobi. He wasn't trying to charge in head first, Naruto was using his speed to hide in plain sight!

The blond was using his skills to become so unpredictable that the Sharingan was the only thing giving Sasuke a chance to follow his moves!

Even more terrifying, with his new style Naruto could move any way he wanted and however he pleased to do so, that the feathery haired boy's eyes wouldn't help much in close quarter combat!

Like Kabuto had said, the fox's carrier had a truly monstrous will to win, proven by how he managed to grow so fast after being crippled by Orochimaru.

Thus, he didn't know whether to be afraid or baffled at seeing Naruto dancing again, doing an odd backwards walk in which his feet seemed to move forward while his body moved back, "Sorry Sasuke, but the party of my youth has just started, and I don't plan to ever stop dancing!" and to complete the incoherent line, Naruto stomped the ground and hooked a thumb to his smiling face, his teeth flashing for a second.

Ok, it seemed he'd settle for baffled, "Oh God… I'm fighting another youth freak…" the youngest Uchiha said in a paralyzed state of fear and awe.

"Heh… You think the power of my burning youth is scary? Try this then." With a whirl of his feet, Naruto begin spinning in place on one leg, wind whirling around his body and forming a funnel from which all the air around them was being sucked towards him.

Sasuke stepped back slowly, his eyes whirling rapidly as he couldn't even see through the veil of chakra infused wind. Something was happening, he could feel this fight was turning legendary. His instincts screamed suddenly, blaring in massive red letters along with a klaxon alarm ringing loudly, 'Danger!'

Before he could do anything, a wind blade shot past him and split the tree line behind him, blood opening up along a cut on his cheek. As another blade shot out soon he started moving, his entire body forced to dodge frantically, almost dancing himself as wind blade after wind blade were shot out.

"What… What are you doing Naruto!?" His jaw dropped as he saw that the wind blades weren't the actual attack, they were just the prelude to what Naruto had been planning all along. His entire body became a cyclone, whirling around in the air with his legs kicking and spinning so fast he became appeared like the classic image of a wind deity with a cyclone below him.

"This is just one hint of what I've been working on Sasuke! Let's take this out for a test drive! Dynamic… Hyper…!" Spinning like a top, the blond haired teen rocketed forward, the ground below him being marked by a laser-thin grinding point of wind, the "tail" of the twister so to speak. That was when he jumped up, his right foot coated by a drill of pure chakra wind, "KICK!"

Knowing he had no chance to win but to go all out with what was effective, Sasuke's hands flashed through signs. With a deep breath he unleashed a volley of fireballs straight at the blond to slow him down. That or at least get himself some much needed distance. He knew fire would devour wind, but something was missing, and he didn't need the Sharingan to know that. It was Naruto, the most unpredictable bonehead!

And how right he was, for instead of burning his legs the fire got consumed into the tornado. With wide eyes the Uchiha jumped away, watching every single of his fiery projectiles getting sucked into the wind! "He's using the vacuum of the tornado to absorb my attacks and strengthen his! How does he come up with this crazy shit?!"

In an instant, Naruto's leg was covered by a fire tornado which was speeding right at the Sharingan user! Cursing to himself, Sasuke pumped all of his chakra to his legs to get out of range.

"Dynamic Hyper Kick! FIRE BURST!"

Despite making the name on the fly, it wasn't any less fitting. When the tree Sasuke was on was hit, a spiral of flames engulfed it in a true inferno. It became a massive pillar of flames that devoured the bark and leaves, leaving nothing but a pitch black piece of coal. The Sharingan kind of shut off from the sheer shock while Naruto passed right through a hole on the tree he made, skidding to a halt on the other side.

"I can't get careless, if we fight all out one of us might die." Sasuke growled, trying to keep his mind set, but his whole body shivered. Whether it was in fear or excitement didn't matter, he knew it was from realization. The Uzumaki before him had not just trained to become stronger, he had evolved into a real martial artist.

"That was awesome!" Naruto cheered, pumping his fists up before walking to his opponent with his right pants leg burned off, revealing some of his scars from his intensive training. However, behind his shin, hidden from Sasuke's eyes, was a nasty burn that the fox's chakra was healing. While the attack was indeed incredible, Naruto knew he had been reckless.

Even the Uchiha could tell, "If we keep this going, you may not walk again."

Naruto grinned wider than ever, "In that case, I'll find a way to fight without my arms and legs! I told you, didn't I? I'm done being a loser!"

"All right, that's enough you two!"

Time was up!

Both turned to find Tsunade displeased by their destructive fighting if the way her eyes narrowed and her arms were crossed under her more than impressive cleavage said anything.

"Granny? But I thought you'd still be busy at your office." Naruto exclaimed in confusion.

"I would have been if some shinobi hadn't reported seeing you two fight." She said with some venom, "The moment word of it got to those two old f…" she stopped herself from cursing with a shake of her head, "I know you two won't take my word for much given the way you went at each other's throats, so I'll say it once. You are supposed to be teammates, not enemies. Work together, or you might end like me."

With that she left the two boys to look at each other, Sasuke clenching his hand into a fist, "This means nothing. Until we truly fight all out, there's no way either of us can prove we have what it takes for our goals."

Snorting, Naruto decided to be a smartass, "For a second it sounded like you thought I'd beat you."

Sasuke smirked, "Hn, you wish."

XXXXXX

After that, word from the fight and the events that happened on it spread faster than the flames on Naruto's improvised fire kick. Some people went to see the sight, and were amazed to find the tree. Some claimed it had to be Sasuke, but soon those false claims died when everyone say the hole Naruto made with his foot. One of such enthusiasts happen to be none other than…

"Konohamaru?" while in the middle of a jog through the village with a four tons on his vest and weighted bracelets, Naruto found his admirer/rival.

"Please, train us!" the kid asked out of the blue, his friends looking as eager.

All three kids had their fists pumped up and staring at him wide-eyed. Oddly enough, Naruto noted they each had shoes like his. After his fight with Kabuto, Naruto used customized dance shoes for every situation. That way he could fight, dance, run, and avoid fighting barefoot if he fought against someone spamming fire. He also bought new pants similar to the ones he wore when fighting Neji.

However, at the moment Naruto ruffled his hair before slicking it back, unsure of what to say. Sure, he would love to have little apprentices, but his training was now based off Gai's. Let this writer repeat that, his training is based off Maito Gai's insane regime. If the children before him tried to endure it, he could only imagine them falling down a cliff after trying to climb it with only their feet and no chakra.

He tried to think of an excuse, for there was no way he'd try to leave with the blood of three innocent kids in his hands. He only survived Gai's insane training because he was too stupid to give up, he was too foolish to say no to a challenge, and he was too idiotic to die easily. Luckily, it appeared as if someone heard his prayers and answered.

"Hey Naruto!" Kiba said, waving his hand with Akamaru on his head, barking lazily, "If you're not too busy with the ankle biters, lend me a hand."

"Who're you calling ankle biters?!" Konohamaru shouted, "If anything, I bet you were a real ankle biter!"

A vein bulged on the Inuzuka's heir forehead, "Hey that was only when Akamaru and I were teething!"

Naruto snickered, "For real?!"

The tattooed brunet huffed, "What's it to ya? Anyway, care to ditch the kids? I want to spar with you."

"Wait, what?" Now that was a surprise.

"You heard me. If you're gonna be Hokage, I can't let you get ahead of me just like that." Kiba said seriously, baring his teeth in a fanged, eager smirk, "After hearing how you fought Sasuke to a point the Hokage herself had to stop you, I know I got to spar with you more often. No way am I just gonna twiddle my thumbs after the way you kicked my face at the preliminaries."

Now it was the Uzumaki's turn to smirk, "Heh, I've gotten way stronger and haven't stopped ever since."

"Oh, the please let us see!" Konohamaru said to the blond, stars sparkling in his eyes, "You're my rival, so I got to know how to surpass you if I'm also going to be Hokage. That large breasted grandma may be in charge, but I still got to make everyone see me as more than my grandfather's legacy! Let me see how strong I have to get."

Naruto playfully karate-chopped Konohamaru, "Dumbass, it's not about trying to be strong enough, it's all about being stronger every second and never stopping despite the limits!" Naruto couldn't help but smile at the boy's cheerfulness. It hadn't been easy for him to cope with the fact Tsunade replaced the old monkey, but after some events the boy was more than eager to far surpass old Sarutobi.

"Alright, then I'll go and be far stronger than you and never stop!" the broom haired kid cheered.

Kiba heard his partner yip, "You're right boy. It is just like Lee and his sensei."

Soon the Inuzuka and Uzumaki got to a good spot to spar. Kiba nearly regretted his decision in a very thorough manner, but knew that if it hurt then he was feeling weakness leaving the body. Either that or Naruto kicked so hard and fast he wasn't making much sense. Even with Akamaru's help, Naruto could see how much stronger he had gotten. He just dashed at Kiba in the blink of an eye and kicked him.

"Wow…" Konohamaru and his friends gaped, Moegi speaking, "All that only with his legs…"

"Oh, Kiba, you ok?" Naruto asked, waving a hand over the defeated Inuzuka.

"Ugh… I think I liked it more… when you were hurt…" the brunet grunted, "At least it felt less painful that this."

Naruto chuckled, "Well, I didn't stop training. You up for another round?"

"Yeah, just… gimme a minute…" Kiba looked up at the sky, pondering a few things, "How?"

"Huh?"

"How did you become so strong? Talent can only get you so far, I know this as someone with a clan. Neji's Gentle Fist and Byakugan may be better than my clan's techniques. And yet, you got this strong because you suddenly trained real hard, it's surreal." Kiba gave a pained chuckle, "Ugh… It hurts all over, but… somehow, seeing you this strong and losing to you… It doesn't hurt as much as I thought."

Naruto arched an eyebrow, "What are you even saying?"

Kiba grinned wider than ever, "Knowing you beat me, when you have no special powers and just your legs… It's like someone tells me and shows me I can be stronger if I just try. You can't even use jutsus, and if you had a bloodline there's so little you can do without your arms. Even if you had talent, it'd be crippled by how restricted you are to fight. And despite that, here you are."

Naruto got it, "You better not be confessing to me." He couldn't help but make that quip.

Kiba snickered, "Jackass… I ain't gonna kiss your ass or anything. But, thank you. If a guy like you can get this far with far less than me, then I got no excuse to not try to become Hokage."

XXXXXX

After his sparring session and talk with Kiba, Naruto trained harder and harder. Konohamaru and his friends tried to tag along, but catching up to him was still far from their reach. It came as no surprise when some girls started to eye him. Hearing that a boy managed to hold his own against the Uchiha prodigy and was ripped like a washboard helped.

Unknown to Naruto, he was being followed and watched by several pairs of eyes.

"That little shit-head seems to think he's worth a damn." Said a feminine figure.

"Tayuya, you should be mindful of how you speak. It'd draw attention to us." Said a far bigger figure. "Besides, Orochimaru-sama told us he's a Jinchuuriki, he might act like that due to some mental issues."

"Kiss my ass." Was the reply from the girl who spoke like she hated everything, and she just may as well do, "Little pissant just annoys me. He's so happy all the time, like the son of a bitch ain't got a damn to give."

"Orochimaru-sama was clear with his orders, we have to take him out if he becomes a problem." Another figure with what looked like a hunchback reminded them.

"Bet you we could just cut his head. Orochimaru-sama said he's a Jinchuuriki, nobody would miss him." Replied another one, covered in a cloak.

"We can probably take out that Uchiha asshole." The girl said with a sneer, "This brat may have beaten Kabuto, but he is probably just a co-"

"Tayuya." The largest of the group started to try to calm her down.

"You don't have the balls to keep me from cursing above a T-rating, fatass." She growled, glaring at the blond, "Look at him, he would die against us, against the one that bested us. What's so special ab-"

And her mind kind of shut down when the blond walked to the river he trained by and decided to wash himself. In doing so he stripped himself down to his light green boxers and briefly soaked his sweaty clothes in the water. Once he put the clothes to dry, he dove in to relax in the cooling water. Tayuya stared more than she should at the obviously younger boy's body.

No Sound shinobi worked hard enough to get any kind of muscle a still blossoming girl would like to see. The only sign of muscle she had seen at Orochimaru's forces came from the largest member of her team or the one man that beat her and the others. It really wasn't easy being a girl in a place full of dudes that were creepy, demented, or both. Thus she would take her time admiring the rippling six pack near the navel-

"Tayuya!" one of her teammates snapped her out of her trance.

"Shit damn it." She cursed with a shake of her head, "Let's make sure he is no problem to get the Uchiha asshat."

The males shrugged, unsure of what to think, and knowing she would just insult them if they asked questions.

However, Naruto had some other things to worry about than stalkers. Mainly, the fact he won a certain bet and that required some concentration.

"Dammit!" a certain knuckleheaded blond cursed upon getting flicked by Tsunade.

His body sailed through the trees surrounding the clearing they used which was on the side of a cliff. His back ached as it broke through three before he righted himself in the air, kicked the air, and dashed right at the more experienced shinobi. This time it was the blonde woman's turn to grind her teeth. She brought up her leg and thanked her healing that she could take out the bruise that was forming on her shin.

"Not bad, brat." She said before showing her own monstrous strength by punching the air.

Once again, the whiskered boy's body soared through the air as the force behind the deceivingly young woman's strike caused the air to ripple and blast him back. Or it appeared to be that way. Tsunade took a moment to realize her shorter fellow yellow haired martial artist didn't have her fist imprinted on his torso. She watched him cheekily grinning after he kicked the ground and bounced high in the air.

He kept himself afloat kicking the air, "I knew you were strong, Granny. But I've still got moves I haven't shown you."

She curled the left side of her lips slightly upwards in a small smirk, "That so from the kid running away from me? Are you too afraid to handle a good looking lady?"

He snickered, "I'd have to see one first."

Less than a second passed before Tsunade threw a boulder she picked from the ground. Naruto kicked the air to dash at it, kicking it with a wind infused foot to cut right through. However, his blood got cold when on the other side was the Senju woman. She looked ready to murder him in thirty different ways. It was mostly by instincts, following his gut that Naruto threw his leg and managed to stop her punch to his side.

The two fighters bounced back from the force, landing on the ground and skidding to a halt, "You little punk!" she shouted, cracking her knuckles, "If I weren't so busy training you I'd be teaching you some manners! I am not going to hold back any longer, start throwing your kicks how I thought you or you will end up dead!"

Naruto grinned, hopping from one foot to the other in eagerness, focusing his chakra through his legs, condensing it, "I think I'm getting the hang of it."

Tsunade paused her rage to speak, "Far from it. You have so much chakra in your legs due to how messed up you arms are that you're using more than you need to." She walked to him, holding a finger, "Why do you think it hurts when I flick you? What you feel is not me using large amounts of chakra, it's a balanced concentration that won't burn my body like opening one's chakra gates."

"I don't get it." Naruto admitted, "You clearly use a lot of chakra, what's the deal?"

She huffed, subconsciously puffin up her chest in pride, "Think of your chakra as your breathing. Each strike requires you to take some air, and you let it out in controlled exhales to not burn your lungs. No matter how much chakra you have, if all you do is abuse it you'll only burn your body. That's why Gai and that kid that follows him have to be careful with their last resort."

Slowly the gears in his head started to turn, "So you want me to control how I unleash my chakra in my strikes rather than let it all out? Like, I should let out short breaths when throwing a punch."

A smile crossed her face while she crossed her arms under her breasts, "You're getting it, kid. Now, let's start once again, from the top. Remember, keep your chakra flowing and let it out when you have to make contact. It'll be like an explosion when that happens and you'll have plenty more firepower for more."

Naruto grinned and put up his fists, "Alright Granny, I ain't going easy either now!"

And, as far away as possible from the training duo, Naruto's stalkers kept doing what they did, "That kid isn't human. Jinchuuriki or not, he can't be human." Said the one with the odd hunch.

"Maybe I can trap him in my web." Said the guy in the cloak hiding a multitude of extra limbs, "That way it'd be a matter of being careful to cut off his head."

Their biggest member pondered on it, "We just have to get the Uchiha boy. It doesn't matter what happens to this one. Killing him is a bonus."

"It doesn't matter who he trains with." The only female in the group commented, "With the Sharingan at his disposal, there's no way he could beat- Shit!"

The group of spies dispersed when chunks of boulders flew their way like cannonballs.

Both yellow haired shinobi were standing on the side of the cliff, throwing kicks, boulders, and punches at each other. Though it was obvious Naruto stuck to only kicks, he still brought his arms to deflect any rocks that got too close for comfort. Tsunade eyed the boy carefully, able to tell Gai's training paid off if he could swat aside falling debris in the middle of their fight.

Continuing with their training, they left the spies to watch in mute shock as things escalated quickly. Naruto would dance around the woman's strikes and throw his own, putting her on the defensive. However, they could see he was keeping his breathing even. It was like the moment he got more and more into the fight the blond stopped getting tired.

"Like that, just like when you exercise. Soon this strength will come to you as naturally as breathing." The first female Hokage said to her odd student.

He merely took off his vest, the impact it had on the clearing's fall left a massive crater the size of a pool, "I'll breathe better without this. Now get ready, Granny!"

"Heh, if only you could use your hands, you'd be perfect as a medic-nin." She muttered to herself before taking a more serious stance, "Alright, brat! Stop holding back or you'll get really hurt now!"

"We need to act, now." Tayuya told her teammates, the lack of swearing making them nod seriously. Thus they left Naruto to train for as long as he wanted.

Time passed.

Full moon in the sky. That was what Naruto's exhausted mind registered after his intense training with Tsunade. All around them were large rocks in the clearing, he was panting like a dog, and yet he was beaming. The pigtailed woman looked kind of happy too. She bumped a fist on one of her stiff shoulders with a content smile and sigh while she sat on one of the many boulders she threw at him, which was split in two.

"You're really determined to become Hokage, aren't you?" she asked the boy, who let his body fall back, sprawled on the grass.

"Damn right. With all this new training, I know I can." He looked so proud of what he did, she felt sorry for him.

"Is it worth it, though?" she asked, dropping the bomb, "I've seen the way people look at you, and I know what secret you hide. Thinking about it, these people don't really deserve you as a Kage. Hell, I still don't like this place much. Yet here you are, fighting for people who only praise you when you seem to be useful to them."

Naruto gave his trademark squinty-eyed foxy frown, "Must you be so cynical, Granny? What if those people think I'm nothing but the fox or its carrier? I'm still going to make them see me for who I am." He grinned, feeling at ease, "Becoming Hokage means they'll have to respect me as the strongest shinobi in this village, someone that will lead them."

Tsunade frowned, "My brother was the same… He just wanted to…" she sighed, "I'll be frank with you, kid. It's not a fun job. Everyone expects you to be perfect and do their damn paperwork. When it comes down to it, being Hokage is being something people want to see you as. It was that what caused me to lose them…"

Closing his eyes, Naruto held on to his necklace hidden under his shirt, "Maybe you're right, but even then, I just want them to eat their words. Even after what happened to my arms, I have gotten stronger. I'm a lot tougher than I ever dreamed. I will make everyone see that. I will make them realize that I can be more than what they think of me. That's why I don't care what they think, being Hokage means they're wrong."

Tsunade listened closely, fearing the worst: that he'd be full of hatred and perhaps become… "Naruto…"

He smiled dumbly, "They will see they were wrong saying what I am and have to be. It doesn't matter what they say or think, I'll do something none of them can do and be better than everyone at it." He chuckled and patted his legs, "And since I can't use any jutsus except whatever I can do with my legs, I'll be even cooler when I get the hat, like saying I did it all with my hands tied to my back!"

A small smile crept on the woman's face before turning into a smirk, and she snorted, "I was wrong about you, then. I thought you were an idiot too blind to see what he's doing… You're a blind idiot too stupid to give up."

"Hey!" he sat up, glaring at her.

For a moment she could see he had grown yet remained the same. It was oddly endearing. If only she were a good certain dozens years younger she wouldn't mind teasing him. Oh what the Hell?

"You're kind of cute, like a dumb puppy that gets its head stuck in a jar and smashes it around walls to get it off."

"Well, you're still old as dust!" he retorted.

All good mood was gone, and thus they returned to another intense hour of training in which Tsunade tried to purposely harm him. She tried, though.

XXXXXX

"Ugh… I'm sore all over places I didn't know existed."

"Lady Tsunade, you can't be serious."

Said woman moaned face down on her desk, "Shizune, that kid is definitely going to cut my life short." The busty Senju groaned, "Gai was perhaps the closest to a worthy teacher he needed. It takes someone with such insanity to teach that brat…."

Shizune giggled, "Then it means Naruto is a good student."

The pigtailed woman hummed, "If only he could use his chakra to heal… But the kid's too hotheaded to learn the medic arts, and only way he could help would be to fight with one foot on top of an injured fighter."

Shizune looked up, "That'd probably be useful, to learn how to heal with my feet…"

"Don't even think about it. You'd have your hands full with something, and then to use two extra and longer limbs?" the slug woman retorted with a tired glare.

Sheepishly smiling, the dark haired woman apologized with a bow, "I guess you're right. It'd require too much concentration I couldn't lose in battle."

"Though the worst pain is… Danzo." Tsunade glared at the figure that entered her office.

The old war hawk merely bowed with a small smile, "Good to see you too, princess. I see you took an apprentice to teach your fighting style to. However, I'm not the only man worried about that fight between our Jinchuuriki and the Uchiha."

The blonde glared, "Don't talk like they're objects, you old coot. What is it you want? Because if you say something related to either of them, I'll do what my sensei never did and-"

"Orochimaru has grown impatient." The elder said to cut her off, "It's come to my attention that the Jinchuuriki boy may be one of the targets. I hope your training is enough to keep him alive. Otherwise, well, I do think I may have the kind of regime someone like him could use for the sake of this village."

"Out. Now." Tsunade needn't say more, she was livid.

Bowing, Danzo did as told with a few words, "I hope you are ready to correct the mistakes your sensei did, then. After all, Orochimaru cost both of you."

Snapping her desk in half with a punch after he left, the Senju woman groaned, "I can't wait to see him fail. Men like him who want more power than they can handle always fail."

Shizune glared at the door where the man left, "Do not worry, Lady Tsunade. He promised he'd never lose, didn't he? Besides, Naruto doesn't strike me as the kind of boy who'd try to get power from others. Your training him shows he wants to earn it."

Tsunade chuckled, "Don't say that aloud next to him, he's got enough hot air in that empty skull of his."

That night Sasuke didn't have much to care in his life except styling his hair, plotting what horrible way to murder his brother, and buying tomatoes. There was also the major tug at the back of his mind to train harder to actually beat Naruto. Having seen how insanely strong the blond had become to surpass him would mean he'd be one step closer to Itachi's death.

He did get ambushed by four, actually five, unknown shinobi. They talked about power after knocking him down flat on his ass with a simple jutsu. The one with blue hair and painted lips started to talk about power. Power was good since having more meant the Uchiha clan could rest in peace. But there was something that they said about Orochimaru that really interested him more than it should.

"It is your choice to meet us." The six-armed one said, "But think of this. Your seal was purposely made to make you stronger, but the one on your teammate…"

Question after question flooded the young Uchiha's mind, "Naruto? What's he got to do with this?"

Now it was the time for a well-placed line, "You think that little shitstain got that strong because he trained?" Tayuya retorted, though she knew the obvious. Naruto did earn his strength.

The lies kept coming from the shinobi that was two in one, "Now, it is partly because of what he is. After all, not many shinobi can compare to a Jinchuuriki, a carrier of one of the Tailed Beasts, the Kyuubi."

Onyx eyes narrowed, "You expect me to believe you?" he looked insulted, "Even if what you said were true, Orochimaru didn't train, guide or do anything but try to cripple him."

"Tell me, do you want to be in that Jinchuuriki's shadow?" Jirobo asked, "In this village that boy houses the monster that your clan couldn't stop. Only a man who had to use his life could stop it, and only the legendary Madara Uchiha could hold the fox back. Now think what you'd learn from a man that tries to master all jutsus."

"But you can always watch that fox boy grow stronger than you, and doing so faster than you thanks to the nine-tailed monster's power." Kidomaru taunted, "We've heard of your fight, and also some details. Like how he would have won had the elders not asked your Hokage to stop him from kicking your face in."

Seeing him clench his fists, Sakon smirked, "We only arrived to give you a choice. Help Orochimaru-sama achieve his goal, or let not only your brother but a boy that depends on a monster's chakra to surpass you. The same power your brother desires."

Cold paralyzed Sasuke's body at those words, "What're you talking about?! Itachi using that thing's power?! What for?! He's already powerful enough to-"

"You don't get shit, do you?" Tayuya growled, "The fox isn't the only one. There are more, but you can let your wet dream get ahead of you and take him and others out to smack you like a little bitch."

They said their piece, but something else settled in the Uchiha's mind, "The fox's power? Who're you trying to fool?" he snorted, "I've seen him fight. Not once did he use chakra that wasn't his, even for a moment. Orochimaru may have given him a handicap, but it was he who became stronger. Tell your master I refuse. If Naruto's that strong with what little he has, I have no excuse to not get stronger on my own."

Sakon spoke full of cynical joy, "Then we have to inform you that your brother hasn't been idle at all. After all, killing your clan was one of many steps to become the man he is."

That touched a nerve, "You basta-" the Uchiha tried to get out, but got kicked by the redhead kunoichi.

"Are we sure this is the same kid we have to bring in?" she asked with disdain, her body covered in tattoos, "He's nothing but a shitty menstruation joke."

"Is this power what you call unique or is it just a crutch?" Sasuke heaved out some spit, wiping his mouth with a grimace, despite the obvious strength she had nailed him with, he felt like it was still just there.

"The power he has given me, and my retarded teammates too, is unique to us dipshit. You could have it too if you wanted." Tayuya stated with a sneer, Sasuke spitting at her feet in response. "Motherf-"

"Stop it, Tayuya!" Kidomaru said, holding her back to prevent her from kicking the boy, "I know what you feel, but it's not worth it."

"Let's make two things clear right here and now." The Uchiha heir said with a sneer of his own, "First, I'm no one's pawn or minion, I can take two guesses why your boss wants me on his side and both have to do with what I am, not who I am. Second, this power is based off of what he's done, and I don't want to be beholden to anyone but myself. Yet, you've caught my interest…"

Rubbing his chin with a grimace, the last Uchiha was actually considering the idea. The one thing that held him back, the one thing that kept him from fully turning his back from everything he knew in the Leaf, was the fact that that he knew Naruto got to where he was by training hard on his own.

The formation of a plan and a goal begun spinning like the tomoe of his eyes in his mind. If he couldn't train in his village, then he'd take his chances in the Sound to get what he wanted from them. Then cut his ties with them when he learned everything worth learning from there, however… His eyes hardened, he'd be sure to give his only reliable teammate something personal to know his plans.

"Seems we got to you." Sakon said with a smirk before he and the others tensed.

"Someone's-" Jirobo barely managed to say.

Before Sasuke could react, the sound of a wind rushing alerted him that someone was close, too close. Feeling a hand on his shoulder for a handstand, the young Uchiha smiled when a black and orange blur zipped over his head. Jirobo, the one closest to the black haired boy, found his ribcage painfully cracking from a black and orange shoe firmly planted on his side.

"What took you so long?" Sasuke asked while the Sound 4 took their distance the instant the new arrival attacked.

Naruto huffed upon landing, "Hey, you could say thanks! You're lucky Granny noticed I was being followed!"

The four servants of the snake tensed, Tayuya narrowing her eyes, "Little shit's got reinforcements. Tch, we'll have to take two for the price of one."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "What're you talking about? We definitely have the whole village ready to help us." He smirked smugly.

Naruto arched a brow, "Uh, what do you mean?"

The Uchiha blinked a few times before slapping his face, "Naruto, you did inform someone about this, right?"

Now the blond sweated, scratching his right reddening cheek, "You see… Granny thought I had some girl swooning over me since she recognized something around the area we trained. I thought it was nice to have a fan…" he blushed with a silly grin on his face, before shaking his head to focus, "Anyway, I tried to see what kind of girl would be admiring me, and now here I am."

Sasuke lowered his hand and quickly slapped his face again, feeling that he needed the extra pain to focus on how stupid that was given a certain Hyuuga's affection, "You have to notice at the worst t-"

"What do you mean admiring?" the girl with the odd hat asked, glaring and glad her long locks hid her cheeks, "What's that old hag told you?"

Naruto couldn't lie worth half a licked lemon, "I don't know, she just warned me about not taking off my clothes in open spaces."

A third slap to the face, followed by three more from the males of the Sound. Tayuya grit her teeth, "How about you take us seriously, you bitch?!" getting the hint it was time for battle all sides took stances.

However, Sasuke turned around to face his teammate, removing his headband, "I've seen enough." He said as he turned to his teammate, "Catch." He threw his headband at the whiskered genin, who caught it and grit his teeth when his teammate dashed at him.

In a split second, both exchanged punches, Naruto throwing his fist to stop Sasuke's from connecting with his face, "What's the big idea, asshole?!" his eyes widened in shock at what he saw, before feeling a direct strike on his gut.

The four Sound shinobi were shocked into silence at the coldness of the Uchiha's actions, millions of questions rushing through their minds as to why he'd do that just like that. Even more shocking, Naruto doubled over and fell on his face. What truly froze their blood was to see a red liquid form a puddle underneath the Uzumaki.

"Let's go." Sasuke said with his back turned to them, quickly putting up his headband, "If he gets back from that, then he really is a monster like you told me."

"Hey, douchebag!" Tayuya growled, grabbing him by his collar, "You just killed your own teammate in cold blood, why?! You were questioning us like you thought you actually had a di-"

She was horrified at what she saw, there was no emotion in the black eyed boy's face, "I told you, you got my interest. Now make it worth my while." He said coldly, making the elite members of Orochimaru's forces grit their teeth.

What they failed to notice as they left were two very important things. One was Naruto groaning as he got up with a bottle of tomato juice Sasuke bought for his midnight stroll, and a serious look on his face. On his hand was a sheet of paper with numbers and letters. To anyone it'd have made no sense, but to Team 7, in a rare occasion in which Kakashi took teaching them seriously, it meant more.

"Asshole…" Naruto grunted as he read the code, mumbling to himself, "Let's see… What did Kakashi-sensei say…? 1E meant… and 47T was…"

Soon he translated the letter to a simple message: " _I'm acting. Follow me._ "

It wasn't long until he confronted Tsunade about the situation and how grave it was. The woman listened intently with a stern tone.

"That brat…" she ground her teeth, "Naruto, even if he has a plan, it's crucial to bring him back. Orochimaru's not to be messed with regardless of what he may think. That idiot…"

Naruto shook his head "It's not going to be easy, Granny. He's too much of an asshole to change his mind." True enough, it was easier to convince sardines to tap-dance than getting Sasuke to do something he didn't like. "He's also got some dangerous guys around. I could tell just by being close that they have lots of tricks up their sleeves. I'm going to need help."

Tsunade eyed him before nodding, "Then go and gather a team. I can't let word of this get out so you'll have to be subtle about it."

That wasn't what he expected, "But it's Orochimaru, that creep would just-"

"Keep quiet, Naruto." She said coldly, "It's true, in any other circumstances I'd have tried to gather a proper group to get him back, but time is of essence, and the walls have eyes and ears."

"What do you mean, Granny?" he asked, feeling the tension in the air.

"Back when you and Sasuke fought, I didn't stop you just because two sacks of dusty bones asked me to, but because someone was interested to use it as an excuse." She balled her hands into fists, "His name's Danzo, and he has been interested in the power of the Sharingan and your own. He's an old war hawk, but he's not to be taken lightly. Had you injured Sasuke in that fight, he'd have tried to use that for…"

Silence, and it was all Naruto needed to know that whoever Danzo was had some very dark ideas in his mind, "Then I'll get to it with people I can trust."

She smiled at that, before reaching for her drawer, "Before you go." She threw a black headband at him, "I wanted to give it to you tomorrow after our sparring session, but congratulations, you're a Chuunin."

He gripped it tightly and nodded, running off.

 **XXXXXX**

And that's my rap!

There will be a next chapter, perhaps the final one for this fic at long last. It'll include an epic fight between Naruto and Kimimaro – which I already wrote bits here and there – and the match between Naruto and Sasuke.

I hope you all enjoyed the fic and had fun with it. I would have wanted to do much more, but I fear it'd have taken too long, which is why I am working on the next chapter. I don't know when I may have it done, trying to make things flow in this story is not easy. There is a reason why I keep the status as "complete", because once I decide I've done everything I could with it, that's where I'll leave.

Now, the omakes. Sorry people, but you won't see continuations to the old ones. Don't worry, I do plan on releasing omakes once I feel I have finished with this fic, I may even write a real fic with this Naruto later on. For now, enjoy yourselves.

 **Warning** : These ones will an AU to this fic. Warning for this AU, if you do not like gender bending, skip it. You've been warned.

(What if Sasuke were a girl?)

As both fighters decided to try to hit the other, Naruto brought up his leg. The Uchiha grunted when his foot lashed up, cutting through the fabric of the youngest Sharingan user's shirt to reveal bandages.

"W-What?!" the black haired teen squeaked in a higher pitched than normal tone. However, Naruto was in the middle of another kick, so he didn't pay much attention to what his actions caused. With a yelp, the blond genin's teammate went flying back after receiving another kick, crashing into a tree. Now that he was more focused on his opponent than on kicking them, Naruto saw… something…

Hairpins were on the floor, thus revealing that a duck-rear shaped hairdo hid a long black mane that reached the Uchiha's lower back. And his second kick, which was aimed to the chest once again, revealed… "Wow…" was all the Uzumaki could say with a blush so intense his birthmarks disappeared in the red of his cheeks.

With a growl, Itachi's sibling got up, "You… What're you staring at…? Why is it so… cold…?" there was a pause as the girl looked down, before slapping her arms to her torso, "K-Kyah, you… You!"

"What the Hell?!" was all Naruto's mind, which ran at a thousand miles per hour, could get out.

"D-Don't stare, dumbass!" she cried, a large red hue over her pale face, "Y-You saw nothing! Th-This is me using that dumb Sexy Jutsu of-"

Now, Naruto was not the brightest or sharpest, but even he could call such bull, "You've always been a girl?" he paused, thinking on it before grinning, "Yeah, my first kiss was with a girl!"

Said raven haired lass glared, "Asshole, that was my first kiss too! You… You… You insufferable…"

"Wait, so if you've always been a girl, why use a disguise?" he asked with an arched brow.

She glared, "Idiot, if I used jutsus and got knocked out, anyone checking could… Why am I even telling you this?! You saw nothing, you heard me?!"

"Uh… why keep it a secret, then? And, um… what do I call you?"

Her face resembled her favorite veggie, "You… Listen, the name is Satsuki Uchiha, as for this disguise, do you really think I want to be the last of my clan being a girl? To think people would want to marry me for this damned bloodline? Do you have any idea what's it like to think there could be men that'd try to…"

"W-Whoa, hey, take it easy!" Naruto said, taking off his vest and quickly removing the weights in it. "Hey, I know this is weird, but... you want to keep this a secret, that much I know. Then, I'll keep my mouth shut."

Her eyes widened, "W-What…?"

He beamed, "I don't care who or what you are, you're still someone I want to be fair and square. Next time we fight, I won't care about this, only that you're strong!"

"You… dummy…" said the tsundere girl, looking away from him with the biggest blush in her life.

(Persona 4 Arena)

"Hello?! Anyone here in this creepy school?! Help! Let me out! I already served my time in my village!"

Naruto tried to find life of any sort in a large and very surreal school. Halls were filled with odd shadowy monsters, there were towers of bizarrely stacked chairs, things were covered in yellow tape that said to not cross it, and… things were just bizarre. Thus he kept walking without a clear direction, just the knowledge that he was lost.

And that he had company, "Gigigi…" there was a shadow behind him, a being made of a dark blob like matter with a blue mask on and tiny arms. It slithered at high speeds at the blond who didn't even bother to turn and look at it. He merely threw his right foot back, splitting its head in half and thus killing it instantly.

"Man, you guys are annoying." He said as it vanished. "I just wish I could find some people."

Ask and thou shall receive, "Stand back!" his head whirled to a nearby classroom's door. Upon stepping inside he found that it was a gym with odd statues of men posing in manly ways. What really stood out was a very, very, very cute girl with frilly reddish brown hair in pigtails, glasses that made her look adorable, and a gray school uniform. She even looked close to his age… and was being attacked by more shadows.

He was about to dash and help her, but watched when she held up her hand, a blue card floating over it. With a flash of light that momentarily blinded him, he saw something, an ethereal being, manifest itself behind her. With a wave of its hand the figure had all the shadows deep friend with a powerful lightning strike, leaving the genin more than baffled.

"Amazing…" the girl heard him, turning her head around.

"Oh, you're different. Are you with that creep that makes awful puns?" she asked, ready to fight.

Naruto knew one thing, you never fight girls unless they deserved it, and since both he and her seemed to be targeted by the monsters he quickly raised and shook his arms, "No, I'm just lost. I was fighting my own teammate and then… I just kind of ended here." He looked around, "Do you have any idea what this is?"

She tilted her head to the side, "You don't seem to be lying… Very well. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Rise. You may know me as Risette."

Naruto tiled his head to the side, "Ok, I'm even more lost."

She gasped, "You are from really far off, or…" she examined him further, "You don't… seem to be a Shadow."

"I just want a way back, Rise… Oh, and I'm Naruto… Sorry for taking so long to greet you." He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

Rise giggled, "Well, since we both seem to be looking for something, wanna tag along? I'm not as used to fighting as my friends, so I'd really appreciate if you could help me find them."

He nodded, "No worries, I've worked as a bodyguard before!"

She clapped, smiling widely, "Good, I may even hire you after this."

(Blazblue)

"Ugh… What hit me?"

Naruto got up to find himself seated in the middle of a massive rose garden. All around him was a sight to behold straight out of a Halloween special. Pumpkins, a large castle, and the endless ocean of roses. More surprising was to find himself in the company of an amused little girl with yellow hair in long pigtails, a black gothic dress, and sharp red eyes. Her face was best described as bored, like he just bored her.

But what stood out were the ribbons keeping her hair in place, looking almost like… "I see you have awoken." She cut his train of thought before he could comment on her rabbit-like looks, "I should be mad that you've fallen and crushed my precious roses, but your arrival has been quite shocking. Not every day do I see a traveler from another world end in my place."

"You're not really making sense." He said as he stood up, dusting himself, "Sorry about the roses, though. I wish I could pay them back, but I'm kinda broke."

"There is a way for you to pay me back." She said in an icy yet not threatening tone, "There is power in you, I can tell. An… acquaintance of mine could use some help in his quest."

He perked up, "Huh, that doesn't sound so bad. Maybe I can find a way home on the way."

She smiled, albeit faintly, "Then it sounds like a deal, shall we- oh my, how horrible."

His eyes snapped open, "What is it?! Did I step on another rose?!"

She shook her head, "No, nothing as horrible. I just realized my poor lack of manners. And here I was about to make a deal with a boy like you without introductions." She cleared her throat, "I am Rachel Alucard, owner of this very land you have landed on."

He bowed awkwardly, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki… shinobi." He really didn't know what else to add to his curriculum.

Rachel smiled slightly in amusement, "At least you try to be polite. Very well, I shall see if you have what it takes for this task."

"What do you m-" he cartwheeled backwards when a pink lightning bolt, an actually pink colored pillar of electricity, nearly hit him.

Rachel grinned, "Good, you are fast on your feet. Shall we get serious?" she floated up, more pink lightning surrounded the two of them.

Naruto sighed, "Why does my luck with girls always involve pain?" nonetheless, he got into his stance, ready to give the small girl a sample of what he was capable of since that was what she wanted.

(Pokémon/Pokken Tournament)

"Would! You! Just! Stop! Trying! To! Punch! Me?!"

Naruto could have questioned a lot of things, and the first that came to mind was if the towering, four-armed being trying to make his face a pancake was real. Behind the creature was some man in a dark uniform with a red R on it, growling at the blond. Despite the humanoid's extra limbs, he found the blond Uzumaki hard to hit when said whiskered Uzumaki started to dance.

"What're you doing Machamp?! Finish that twerp!" the man growled at his partner.

The Machamp pulled back two fists, intent on knocking Naruto down. Big mistake, "Dynamic… STRIKE!" with both feet on the muscular creature's torso, he sent the Machamp flying back and crushing the man under his weight.

Naruto allowed himself a sigh of relief before turning behind him to a small chicken-like creature. Its feathers were orange, it had a natural Mohawk made of feathers, and only two bird feet with sharp talons, "Hey little guy, you ok?" he crouched before it, waving a hand, "That guy won't hurt you any longer, so just take care."

"Torchic." It said, jumping up before bowing.

Naruto gave his most intelligent reply to date, "Huh?"

"Tor, Tor, chic!" it said, bowing once again before standing up and trying – key word being trying – to throw a kick. Naruto caught it before it fell down.

"Oh, you want me to teach you how to kick." He said as he set the little bird back on its feet. It nodded energetically, "Well, I do have to get back home, but…" he looked at its beady, pleading eyes, "Oh what the Hell? I always wanted a pet!"

"Tor, Tor!" it cheered and jumped at his arms, snuggling into his embrace which he replied to by hugging it,.

The little critter cheered more, "Ok little guy, I'm going to train you hard. I will teach you the meaning of a good kick through your own passion! Little guy, no… I'm calling you… Suzaku! How's that sound?! I'm gonna train you to be the coolest bird ever!"

Suzaku would have grinned had its beak been able to curl up.

(Fairy Tail – written by The Lord Of Pages)

"So… hungry…"

Naruto groaned in the middle of what appeared to be an ancient forest his stomach growling at him in displeasure, demanding food. He was about to pass out honestly but something stopped him from doing so. He saw a young girl sobbing in the woods, stripped completely naked. One hand clenched the tree he was leaning against, hard enough to shatter the bark completely before he took a heavy whiff of the air.

He felt some relief as she didn't smell of… he shuddered at the thought. He was just glad it was a sign that she wasn't traumatized in other ways. Getting up with a grunt, the genin took off his weighted vest after removing the weights. He bundled it up, and then threw it out of the bushes he was in towards the crying girl.

"Hey! I'm not looking at you right now, so you can put some clothes on. I'll come out too but with my eyes closed, so please don't scream." His voice made the girl shoot up trembling, her blackish blue hair moving with her as tears poured from her eyes in embarrassment now.

"What're you… doing…?" the way her voice trembled made Naruto stand up as nonthreatening a way he could manage, with his hands over his eyes along with his headband hiding them completely, he looked extremely goofy as he stumbled forward, then tripped over a rock and fell flat on his face.

"In all honesty that wasn't supposed to happen and I totally did not look like a spaz right now… I'm sorry for being a creeper too-" he begun to say before he heard the girl giggle. It wasn't much and she was clearly still hiccupping through her tears, but it was a start. "What's your name?" He asked after she sniffled for a few more minutes, his face ground against the dirt to a comedic degree.

"Minerva. Minerva Orlando." She said after a long silence, but a giggle pierced the air every now and again as she watched him grind his face against the dirt in a manner that reminded her of a giant fox.

He raised up a brown smeared face then wiped the dirt off of it with a cough.

"Name's Naruto Uzumaki. Why were you crying?" He asked her, his face not even facing her but somewhere past her ears.

"It…" She didn't want to tell someone who she didn't even know, but the fact that he had an expression of honest concern, his attempt at comforting her, and the fact that his vest was very warm and thick swayed her.

"It… It was my father… He's very strict and cruel and he treats me horribly. He trains me all day and night, yells at me if I don't get a spell right, beats me if I don't do a movement perfectly, takes me on horrible training trips, and strips me if I don't work hard enough or do anything right!" Despite herself everything she had suffered spilled out of her mouth rapidly, the words flowing as quickly as her tears had.

"I see." Naruto was silent for an extremely long time, his expression as emotionless and cold as a stones, he got up slowly after the silence became oppressive. "Hey, can you tell me where he is?"

"Why?" Minerva couldn't help but ask him that, she hated her father and what he put her through daily, yet she had to ask for its own sake.

"I'm going to beat some manners into him." He said that simply, matter-of-factly, like it would happen no matter what and that there was nothing anyone could do to make him stop.

"But he's really strong…" Despite what he said, and how much she hated the man, she didn't want the man she just met to get hurt.

Naruto in response slammed his foot down so hard the entire clearing shook, trees being uprooted in rapid succession before a massive crater appeared below him after the rumbling had fully died down.

The expression he held in that second sealed the deal for her, but his next few words helped her feel hope as well, "I'm really strong too."

"He's down that path there… You'll know him when you see him." He tore off his headband, revealing determination filled blue orbs that to the young girl, in that moment, represented hope for a better tomorrow.

"I'll be back shortly. Just sit tight."

With that he walked off into the woods, a few tense minutes passed for the girl, minutes so tense she was wrought with worry. Shouting was heard, then explosions, before a blast so loud she had to cover her ears. She looked behind her and saw a figure with its face sunken in fly at a speed so fast it disappeared over the horizon before she could get a good look at it.

Naruto walked back shortly thereafter, his right leg dripping red and a proud smile on his face, "If he ever comes back, I won't hold back."

She went silent after that, tears coming to her eyes and a small smile on her face now as she rubbed them away, and clutched his jacket tightly to her body.

"Thank you…"

 **XXXXXX**

Swordslinger out!


End file.
